Matt_W
2005
You can use SkyVector to get VOR frequecies. They’re printed on the VFR map, which they have worldwide coverage for:
Here you can see the Pomigliano VOR-DME, which is in the blue box inside or near the VOR compass rose. Frequency is 117.85 (which also is DME Y channel 125–listed as well). There’s an NDB there too, at channel 351, shown in the red box. And there’s another NDB to the northwest at Grazzanise, channel 343. You can also see the airport LIRN listed, with control tower frequency 118.5 and ATIS frequency 135.97. The runway is at elevation 294’ and has a longest (only in this case) runway length of 2621m. The orientation of the runway on the chart matches its orientation in the world: 06/24 in this case. The airport actually has its own VOR-DME at frequency 110.95, but it’s not shown on the chart. SkyVector shows this on the airport info page.
Info on how to read a VFR chart is in a really nice publication from the FAA here. It’s meant for U.S. charts, but the symbols are fairly consistent worldwide.
If you have a glass cockpit, you can get them from the Garmin.
Edit: Actually, maybe that’s only ILS/ATC
Spock
2007
As @Skipper said, skyvector.com is free and it’s great for VOR frequencies in the US, Europe and some other places. It’s a bit more sparse on nav aids in other parts of the world, but even there it usually has the most important VORs. “DME”, often associated with VORs, is distance measuring equipment – distance to your target VOR radio signal. Very nice to have.
Glad to hear you’re interested in VORs. GPS is great and all, but VORs are actually better at some things, and it’s good to have both tools available. A VOR “localizer” is better than GPS because it’s a more precise signal; it gives you not only a direction but also a target altitude and glide slope, and it can guide you or your autopilot right down to the runway.
Question for @Skipper: does the DME channel matter to non-military pilots? Doesn’t one just tune the VOR frequency and, if it has an associated DME, you automatically get DME info?
@Pedro thanks for trying the bush app. I’m eager to give it a spin. I’m just so busy running my OnAir airlines that I haven’t had time yet… :)
Skipper
2008
Think of it less as “the same frequency” and more of, a completely different band, using the same number. VOR uses VHF, DME uses UHF. Remember everything around aviation leveraged backup and alternatives versus stacking everything together. It just -happens- that the FAA chose to frequency match DME and VOR frequency numbers. It makes sense, right?
As for operation, one gives radial (VOR), the other (slant) distance (DME.) You can fly without DME but flying without VOR is a bit more, “look down, where am I?” GPS is the third leg in this race as it gives us very close location, speed, heading, etc.
This is actually false. A VOR (or NDB or TACAN) are not giving you vertical guidance. They are also different from a localizer which is an ILS without the glide path. All of these are what’s called non-precision approaches. They will give you horizontal guidance (within lower tolerances than a GPS approach) but no vertical guidance beyond the final approach fix (FAF) altitude (where you start the final segment of the approach) and the missed approach altitude (MDA), the altitude at which you either can see the runway and land or cannot and go-around on a missed approach instrument procedure.
Next world update is the USA apparently, which is a bit frustrating given that it’s got almost all the photogrammetry as it is.
Matt_W
2011
Standard glideslope is about 3°, which means about 3000’ AGL at 9.5 nm away from the localizer (which you’ll see on many plates.) To calculate your descent rate, take your ground speed in knots and multiply by 5 to get fps. If you’re going 100 kts, you descend at about 500ft/s.
vyshka
2012
Man, I guess I’ve never really played anything requiring my trackir during the day or at least not since I rearranged my office. I thought the damn thing was dying on me, it was acting all flaky, with the indicator light flickering off and on and the view going all nuts inside msfs. I guess it is sensitive to sunlight, and with the door open to my office and the blinds of the window across the house open sunlight was coming through and messing with the sensor. Seems to be okay now with my door closed, so I’m hoping that truly was the problem. I’ve had the trackir probably for a decade at least so I imagine at some point it will die, but hopefully not yet.
Europe just got a video today
Spock
2014
I’m in the US, but I’m also a little surprised to hear this, as I think the US is already in pretty good shape in MSFS, and I do much of my flying elsewhere. But they’ll get there. I’m enjoying flying around Japan right now in any case.
Thank you for the clarification. In any case, my main point stands: it’s best not to rely only on GPS. In the boating world, we say the same: there are other means of navigation than GPS, and redundancy is important for safety.
Yeah, mine is too. There’s about a five minute window each afternoon in which the sun peeks in at just the wrong angle and messes things up. But other than that mine works great. Which version do you have? I have the camera together with the little reflective Y-shaped metal thing, which I wear on a golf visor.
vyshka
2015
Yeah, I use the same. I had the pro clip thing, which is broke now, but that was actually kind of annoying to use, so I pretty much always used the visor clip anyways. Just funny that this is the first time I’ve run into that in a decade or so. I thought the sensor was screwed or something.
Thrag
2016
Wow, there’s a lot of info packed into those sky vector charts. I know how to read nautical charts but those are child’s play.
I did notice this while scanning around the map of the SF bay area.
Oops. Looks like my sightseeing tour was a no-no.
vyshka
2017
Decided to take a quick flight east of Phoenix to see how the salt river looks. Had to stop before I got to the best parts, but still nice.
jpinard
2018
I’m just flabbergasted at how good that looks.
vyshka
2019
Things are good enough I recognized a spot where we did family photos a few years ago by looking at a couple hills and was able to see the parking lots for the park next to the river.
I thought I’d head east along the salt river and see how it looks north of Globe, AZ. When I moved here in 2000 I took a scenic route that took me by the very large array site in NM, and then down through a nice canyon in eastern AZ.
Wow that Europe trailer makes me feel like the World is so big.
Skipper
2021
All of their videos have. Hell it makes me realize I don’t even know about the majority of the beauty in the world. It’s also hard to fathom flying anywhere. Literally, anywhere in the world. I look at it and think of what I know, but there is so much I should try to see.
Spock
2022
There’s so much to see even around areas we think we know. I found my house, but I also goggled at how different things look from the air – how little I know my own area’s physical geography. It’s one thing to know streets and such. It’s another to know where the rivers bend, the hills rise up, etc.
Matt_W
2023
I’ve been flying around Italy trying to complete my OnAir level 5 stuff.
Climbing out of Terme headed east from the toe to Brindisi on the heel of Italy.
I decided to try doing a flight entirely by taking VOR fixes. Worked great and I learned a bunch. I kept forgetting that when flying toward a VOR station, you have to fly the back course. And I still have to work out how to get a fix at crossing radials. (Since the heading display on the G3000 shows bearing indicators to the radio beacon, I think you have to fly one radial then watch to see when the other bearing indicator lines up with the crossing radial back course.)
The autopilot is horribly cursed. Wouldn’t hold level flight in level mode. Wouldn’t keep my roll command in roll mode. Kept trying to climb and descend against my pitch inputs in pitch mode. It works fine for navigating via GPS or beacons, and can use VS/FLC/ALT mode fine, but the normal flight assist modes are bollocks.
Spock
2024
Yet another great screenshot, MattW.
For me, the reliability of the autopilot varies from one plane to the next. It’s pretty solid in the C172 with the G1000, but it almost sent me into a tailspin in the Bonanza after it had been happily following a course in NAV mode for 20 minutes. Were you in a TBM when you had these experiences? Also, sometimes the autopilot gets unstable when I switch to exterior cameras for a screenshot. (It’s even worse when hand-flying, as I"m sure you’ve noticed. Gotta get those screenshots fast!)
I’m not a real pilot, but in FSX and X-Plane I did spend a lot of time with multiple VOR stations (and NDBs) many years ago – and I found it easier with steam gauges than with the G1000. With steam gauges, you have the instant visual feedback of the reassuring little vertical line. Can you see more than one VOR at once with the G3000?
Also, I do remember doing some VOR tutorials that had me fly the back course, but I don’t remember why. So far I’ve just been dialing in the course toward the VOR and that’s worked for me. Maybe I’m doing it wrong?
