VOR, HELP!

you are not on the 090 course until the needle that moves is in the middle.

if it is to the left of the circle in the middle of the guage, then you are too far right and you need to fly towards the needle until it centers again. THen turn back to 090. You have to keep making adjustments until you can keep the needle in the middle. If there is a crosswind then you may need to turn slightly into the wind so that you stay on course.

The key thing is just to keep the needle centred, so if rod says you're too far right you haven;t got the needle in the centre.

Just keep trying and read thru the Ground school materal carefully and slowly.... it helps if you can print it out, then you can see everything in one go so you sdont have to keep scrolling.

Hope this helps.

I haven't used Rod's lessons so I can't help you with that, however, VOR radial interception seems to work quite accurately in the Sim. As in the real world, the closer you are to the VOR, the more quickly you have to react. Trying to intercept a radial within 2-3 miles of the station will probably require a very steep turn once the needle starts to move (a steeper turn than private pilots are taught). Intercepting from 10 miles away can easily be done with a standard rate turn. From farther out, a more gradual turn is used.

For your second question, again assuming you are some distance from VOR, center the needle (making sure you are headed TO the VOR, not away, and put the airplane on the heading that centers the needle and hold that heading. If the airplane drifts left of course, you have a crosswind from the right and vice-versa. You then need to steer a heading that will keep the needle centered on the radial you want to fly. The stonger the crosswind, the more correction you will need to apply.

As an example, assume you are trying to fly the 090 degree radial to the VOR. Your zero crosswind course will be 270 degrees. Intercept that radial and steer 270 degrees. You then notice the needle drifting to the left. That means you are experiencing a crosswind from the right. Apply enough right course correction to re-center the needle, then turn back toward the 270 course but not the entire way. Depending on the wind direction and velocity, you may be able to hold the radial with just a degree or two of correction (276-277 degrees). In stronger winds, you will need a greater correction.

I hope this helps.

Ok, thanks for help with my first question, yea i wasnt doing the turn at a bank angle that will intercept the path at the correct time. So i increased the bank angle and rod did not say much besides your too far left while i was still trying to line up with the station, but i did eventually get it, so thanks.

Now on to my second question. In the lesson i was flying and Rod said keep the needle centered, eventually the needle started to move to the right, so then i turn right and get it back to center, but then the needle moves to the left, and as i get ever closer it moves more and more(more sensitive), now what i dont know is,(Also this was all about 3 miles from the VOR station)

1. Did a crosswind start this and i am turning tooo much while im repositioning.
2. Was i not inline
3. I just dont know how to fly

If you expiernced this ever or you know whats wrong can you post a reply?

I don't know how FS09 handles wind conditions, whether it is steady or varies as it does in real life. Winds do vary and it can effect tracking, especially when very close to the VOR.

The comment I made previously about the difficulty of interception close to the VOR also applies to tracking once you get close. Even without wind, it can be difficult to hold an exact center line course within 0-2 miles of the VOR (keeping in mind that DME distance includes altitude when you are very close. If you are flying at 12,000 feet when you cross a VOR at MSL, your DME readout will read 2.2 miles and your groundspeed will be zero for a few moments. The point of this digression is you are closer than you think to the station if you base your proximity on the DME readout).

The technique I use to try to precisely track a VOR or ILS is to use banked turns when I'm 5 miles or further out and to use just rudder corrections as I get closer. That usually allows me to track the desired course. Even when further out, rudder corrections work well to hold a course once you are established on it. It also is easier to do accurately in a real airplane than in the Sim but it does work in the Sim. You just have to make more frequent very minor corrections.

You can practice this the way you would in real pilot training. Just fly to and away from a VOR over and over again. Set up zero wind conditions for the flight and practice until you can hold your course precisely each and every time. Then, crank in some wind and practice, practice, practice.

Very few people are able to do this precisely without that practice but anyone with average hand-eye coordination can master it with practice. Don't be hard on yourself because you don't get it right immediately.