VOR Intercept Flashcards
Like ADF intercepts, what are the two most common intercept angles for VORs?
30° and 45°. However 60° and 90° can be used. Depends on how far away you are and whethere you are going inbound or outbound.
Unlike the ADF, how do you know when to turn on course for your intercept radial?
When the needle centers
Like ADFs, how does heading affect the VOR?
It doesnt. The VOR only tells you what radial you are currently on.
What do the To and From flags mean on the VOR?
When you turn the OBS to put the needle on whichever radial you want, the TO/FROM flags tell you where you are in relation to it.
For example, in the picture if we had selected the 045 radial, the flag will still say from because we are currently on the 045° radial and we can only go outbound from the VOR with a heading of 045°.
In the picture, we have the 090° radial selected. In this case, the FROM flag lets us know that we are on the same side of the VOR as the 090° radial, but that we need to make a turn to the right (chase the needle) to intercept it.
Had we selected the 270° radial, there would be a TO flag, indicating that if we intercept that radial and fly a heading of 270° from our current position, we will travel inbound to the VOR
What can you know from this picture?
- We want to get on the 060° radial
- We are on the same side as the 060° radial (from flag)
- The 060° radial is more than 10° to our right
What does the little circle and each of the tick marks out from center mean on a VOR?
The circle is 2° and every tick mark is another 2°. Where the needle falls tells you how many degrees you need to turn to the left or right to intercept your selected radial.
How would you figure out which radial you are currently on?
Turn the OBS until the needle centers with a From flag
What is the first step after selecting the radial you want to intercept?
Because you can royally fuck yourself if you get turned in the wrong direction in your head, its a good idea to first turn on course for the eventual
Once you turn to parallel the radial you want to intercept (assume outbound), how do you calculate your heading to intercept it at? Assume an intercept angle of 45°
Once you are parallel, if the needle is to the right, add the intercept angle to your current heading. If it is to the left, subtract it.
In the image below we have selected the 090° radial with the OBS on our VOR and we have already turned our heading to 090° as well. Because the needle is deflected to the right, we will add 45° to 90° . This gives us an intercept heading of 135° . Once the needle has centered, turn on to 090° again to track outbound on that radial.
When we are outbound, we can use ______ angles to intercept.
Shallow angles. 15°, 30°, 45°
