User Guide

Learning To Fly with Rod Machado
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the station. Press P to activate the simulation and watch how the flag changes as you cross the
station. Don’t worry about flying since the autopilot’s heading and altitude mode are active. Just sit
back, relax, and watch. Press P to pause the simulation after the flag changes to a FROM indication.
A flag change from TO to FROM is one of the ways pilots can tell when they’re over a VOR station.
Figure 7 shows several
airplanes and their respective
VOR indications. Airplane A is
heading 360 degrees (the
direction of the selected
course). Its VOR display shows
a right needle with a TO
indication. This means that the
selected course is to the right
and, if Airplane A were on the
course, it would be headed
directly to the station. Airplane
A must turn to the right to
intercept the selected course.
So must Airplanes C and E.
Airplanes B, D, and F must turn
left to intercept the course.
Notice that when you are
abeam (90 degrees to the side
of) the station, the flag shows
OFF. No, this doesn’t mean
you’re off course. It means that
you are momentarily neither
going to or from the station.
Now, here’s a chance to put
your knowledge to practical
use.
Intercepting & Tracking a VOR Course
Let’s assume you want to depart Whatzitz airport and fly the 030-degree course to and beyond the
VOR as shown in Figure 8. (To be precise, degree values less than 100 are shown with a “0” in front
of them. This prevents pilots from thinking that a value of “30” is 300 degrees. We pronounce “030” as
Figure 7
A
C
E
B
D
F
FROM
OFF
TO
FROM
OFF
TO