I am really looking forward to do more instrument flying.
I was always dogfighter and cared more about the tactics, rather then about the navigation (there is always good weather on DF servers ). I need change… I am getting older
having just completed sim ride 2 of my latest recurrent, I’m ready for some daytime VMC flying with no malfunctions . If things broke, or the weather was at minimums as often as they do/are in the sim I am not sure I would ever fly again! LOL.
Flying a NDB approach in the DCS MiG15 was actually quite exciting when I flew one in the Museum Relic campaign (in VR). It was quite gratifying to find the airport after wrestling with the Russian Nav equipment.
I have only F86 but did never dig into the nav part of instrumentation. Yes, offline campaignes are better in this regard
Watch is needed to LOC / VOR with no DME FAF…just few things watch is used. Also holding…
'Sactly! And the watch needs to be big so it can be read in emergency situations. Also need to be high quality, like Breitling, Omega, Tag, Rolex or similar, for the same reason. Can’t have the watch crapping out on us when we need it the most, can we?
lol… but some time ago I really made a natural transition from big pilot like watches to something more decent without the chronograph etc.
I realy dont think that in near future I will put my chronographs back on my wrist. I told you, getting older
Garmin has made a watch that also has a whole GPS function in it, able to show steering instructions to fixes. How near is that?! Probably costs an arm and a leg though.
I think that’s the garmin d2
Not. Sure if I’m convinced that it’s functionality surpasses gimmick.
Though saying that, my watch is a garmin. .
Garmin also does tacticool watch for those of you who like to stalk and think there is a sniper on every roof top. . It has night vision functionality and a curved glass so you don’t give away your position
The Kids these days will never know what its like to cruise while using steam gauges to plot your position. I was in a recon unit in the Army so I learned land nav the hard way. My favorite navigation in DCS? MiG-21. Just love them instruments.
Back to my trip to CYQQ. As I already wrote in different thread I tried to use radials crossings from two different VORs as waypoints.
The point is that in weather and using only watch, compass, gyro, two NAV radios and NDB it is quite hard to hit exactly the crossing point (at least for me).
As shown on the following track. Lets talk about the waypiont with the cross over it
If I am flying to this waypoint and if I intercept the radial (282) from the closer VOR then I am to the S of the waypoint an vice versa. Thats I would say sums what I could think about using it as waypoint.
Am I missing something? What is the magic behind it? Or I shouldnt use it as waypoint with Shawk in the first place because of some missing instrumentation?
I will appreciate any hint Thx
To intercept a waypoint that is between 2 VOR radials you either need to have 2 VOR receivers, or do the constant switcharoo.
Back in ye old days(note this story is also related to a might airsmash in New York) the aircraft would fly on a radial with a single VOR-DME receiver, the pilot would put the aircraft on autopilot with the HDG mode to make sure it was tracking fine, then switch frequency and rotate the VOR-DME to the next beacon.
So in your case you would be flying at 274 from whatever that VOR is, put the AP in HDG mode and then switch the receiver to the next beacon and dial in 282, as soon as the needle’s cross you know you are over the waypoint.
Man…I officially flew technology before what is now labeled “ye old days”…oh no!!! So in the pre-ye old days, we actually only had a single VOR head, no DME, and no RMI, just a DG that you had to occasionally reset to match the wet compass. To ID intersections you used the single VOR needle and tracked your progress on the airway to an intersection by using a third VOR offset to the left or right of the course or airway you were tracking. Lots off flipping, spinning the OBS to get the cross radial, then flipping back. And definitely no autopilot.
But both of you have it right. In a Skyhawk with two VOR heads and DME…it is easy peasy…track the first VOR outbound, watching the DME to the intersection, or - if no DME is listed, then just track it outbound while having the inbound VOR course to the VOR you are flying towards set on the number two VOR indicator and when it centers up, you make the course change.
Likely, I am using a 1960’ example of a DC-8 VS Constellation aircrash(hint, both lost).
Gotta love the old ways though, a FMC and EICAS/ECAM PFD/ND integrated cockpit system is fun to play with, it’s just not the same.
My situation is 2 VORs, no DME, no AP, so the middle-ye old days probably
From what you guys wrote I can recognize one probable wrong move on my side. I was not tracking any VOR on that hdg 274. Just watching gyro and waiting for one of the two VOR needles to start to move as I was closing to the intersection. Thats why I drifted to the N and I didnt hit the intersection.
So in short I should track VOR radials all the time!?
If you learn out in the boonies, like I did, that’s exactly how it goes!
Ok, so next time when the conditions in Canada will be again VMC I will try night flight
Lets say I now mastered NDB & VOR navigation (or is there something more to try in this field?). What do you recomend next to try in regards to nav instrumentation flying?
Will aircraft with additional ILS & AP be enough?
Well, you can always try RNAV/GPS approaches if you have an aircraft with an advanced box. Those are fun… As for more stuff to do…just find some airports in Canada with exciting approaches. One of the more fun ones is Castlegar, BC. Fun approach into there…
I have one question for you more experienced steam gauges navigators
When I am flying VOR to VOR navigation and when the two VORs are further away from each other, like I can not receive signal form the second one when I am over the first one. What to do?
Just to set the radial TO the next VOR, estimate the wind correction and off we go? Then when the signal from the next VOR is picked I just do the necessary corrections? Or is there some other trick? thx in advance
Fly outbound on the previous VOR until you pickup the next one. That is almost always sufficient!