When a student first tries tracking to a VOR station, it often sounds as though someone left a car’s turn signal on because the needle keeps banging against the sides of the case. Here’s a way to handle the tracking problem.
During their first VOR navigation lessons, let your students track visually to a nearby VOR at 1,000 feet agl (or as low as safety permits). This allows them to view the station as they approach it. With the station in sight, most students have little or no difficulty centering a VOR needle. In fact, they often comment on how easy it is to keep the needle centered this way.
One or two sessions of visual tracking will help students picture the airplane’s relationship to the aiming point (the station). With the station in sight, they’ll immediately notice that it doesn’t take much of a correction to stop and re-center a wandering VOR needle. In other words, a 10-degree correction appears quite substantial when viewed over the cowling, compared to how it appears on the heading indicator. The over-the-cowling picture also helps students develop patience while tracking. They become more willing to tolerate a slow needle response when they can actually see their angle of intercept. The over-the-cowling picture lends confidence that these angles, although small, eventually will work.
Try introducing your students to VOR navigation visually. Give them the opportunity to see the station while tracking.
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When a student first tries tracking to a VOR station, it often sounds as though someone left a car’s turn signal on because the needle keeps banging against the sides of the case. Here’s a way to handle the tracking problem.
During their first VOR navigation lessons, let your students track visually to a nearby VOR at 1,000 feet agl (or as low as safety permits). This allows them to view the station as they approach it. With the station in sight, most students have little or no difficulty centering a VOR needle. In fact, they often comment on how easy it is to keep the needle centered this way.
One or two sessions of visual tracking will help students picture the airplane’s relationship to the aiming point (the station). With the station in sight, they’ll immediately notice that it doesn’t take much of a correction to stop and re-center a wandering VOR needle. In other words, a 10-degree correction appears quite substantial when viewed over the cowling, compared to how it appears on the heading indicator. The over-the-cowling picture also helps students develop patience while tracking. They become more willing to tolerate a slow needle response when they can actually see their angle of intercept. The over-the-cowling picture lends confidence that these angles, although small, eventually will work.
Try introducing your students to VOR navigation visually. Give them the opportunity to see the station while tracking.
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