VFR Miscellaneous: Radionav Aids, Advanced Pilotage, Emergencies

Some more hints and miscellanea useful to the private pilots. Albeit the VFR pilots mostly fly using ground landmarks, they however have to master the basics of the radionav aid (the VORs, NDBs, etc), those radio aids mostly used by the IFR pilots. Some advanced pilotage is required too to get better inserted into the aiport environment as, at last, the private pilots are trained too to control the plane -or to regain control of she- in some cases of emergencies

. The Radionav Aids (VORs, NDBs, etc) . Advanced Pilotage . Emergencies

The Radionav Aids (VORs, NDBs, etc)

Even if flying a VFR flight mostly relies on the ground landmarks, the VFR pilots are occasionally brought (or in case of night VFR) to use radionav aids. Those aids, like the VORs, the NDBs, the VOR-DMEs, etc. are ground radioelectric systems which allow the pilots to know where the navaid is located, through an onboard receptor. The location and freqencies of the navaids are found on the aeronautical charts (VFR charts, airport areas charts, etc.)

- The NDBs - The VORs and VOR-DMEs

The NDBs

Nondirectional radio beacon or NDBs are older radionavigation aids. Their radio emission in the low or medium frequency band of 200 to 415 kHz allow to locate where one's plane is relative to them. NDBs are mostly used per se or like associated to a instrument landing system (compass locator). With compass locators and a range of 15 NM, NDBs come into three types, MH, H, HH with a range of 25, 50 and 75 NM respectively. Like VORs NDBs benefit of a identification Morse code. NDBs may be subject to to electrical disturbances, such as lightning and interference from distant stations. The basic equipment of a plane to use a NDB is a 'Automatic Direction Finder' or ADF. A ADF features a navigational display. The navigational display consists of a dial upon which the azimuth is printed, and a needle which rotates around the dial and points to the station to which the receiver is tuned. 0° is representing the nose of the aircraft, and 180° representing the tail Some of the ADF dials can be rotated. Keep in mind that the needle of fixed azimuth points to the station in relation to the nose of the aircraft. If the needle is deflected 30° to the left, this means that the station is located 30° left and conversely. If the aircraft is turned from the azimuth value, the needle moves to indicate a relative bearing of 0°, or the aircraft is pointing toward the station. When a pilot flies toward the station keeping the needle on 0°, the procedure is called 'homing to the station'. In case of a correction for wind drift is applied, the ADF needle indicates the amount of correction on a side or a other. In VFR conditions, NDBs are mostly of use to determine a position and a heading in case of emergency, when caught into weather for example

The VORs and VOR-DMEs

Like the name, a VOR or 'Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range' is a ground-located radionavigation aid which emits a full circle around it, in all directions or in the axis of each of the degrees which constitute that circle. Each axis is called a 'radial' as each radial is the line of emission which leaves the VOR outbound. Radial 45, for example, is the emission line which, from the VOR, runs to a 45 degree magnetic heading. A VOR is identifiable, from the plane's receptor, through its Morse code identification or, in some cases, a vocal signal. VORs, on aeronautical charts are represented aligned to the magnetic North and not the geographic one. That allows to measure their values directly from the chart in headings corrected from the magnetic variation of the area as the difference between the North of the VOR and the geographic North allows to confirms the value of the magnetic variation. If, for example, the VOR's North is inclined towards the East and displays a 5-degree difference with the vertical -or the geographic North- the area's magnetic variation equals 5° East. VORs mostly come into three varieties like the VORs (most simple of them), the VOR-DMEs (a VOR with a distance determination system or DME, 'Distance measuring equipment') and VORTACs (military VORs mostly found at air bases, with a tactical navigation system or TACAN, 'tactical air navigation.' Another classification of VORs is the one which sorts them into High Altitude (with a range up to 130 NM), Low Altitude (with a range of 40 NM), and Terminal ones (with a range of 25 NM and linked to a airport terminal area). A VOR allows to localize where one's plane is or to follow a route and heading through a radial. At the effect of using a VOR, a plane is equipped with a VOR receptor which allows to visualize any of the radials of the VOR. Such receptors come into three types, function of the degree of complexity of a plane. GA planes a VOR receptor comes with its simplest form, or a 'Course Deviation Indicator,' CDI. Advanced planes come with a 'Horizontal Situation Indicator,' HSI or a VOR receptor coupled to a Heading Indicator, or with a 'Radio Magnetic Indicator,' RMI which comes like a complement. A RMI links a VOR to a ADF, another, older radionavigation aid. How a simple VOR receptor works is easy. Just set the VOR's frequency on the plane's radio panel appropriate window and check the ident of the VOR through its Morse code. Turn the VOR gauge mobile dial, or OBS, you will see the VOR's needle get aligned as the gauge also displays the 'TO' indicator (or a arrow pointed upwards; 'TO' stands for 'towards (the VOR)'). The VOR value which is then read on the gauge is the one of a radial. Such that move allows first to know where your plane is located relative to the VOR. If the aligned needle shows the 45-degree radial and TO, that means that you are located somewhere southwest of the VOR. That tuning also allows to follow a heading leading to the VOR as you just have to follow a heading equal to the radial, or a 45-degree heading. Your plane then will fly towards the VOR, which is a safe way to follow a course. If, when overflying the VOR, you keep flying that 45° course, the TO indicator will swing to 'FROM (or a arrow pointed downwards; 'FROM' stands for 'from (the VOR)'), meaning that you just passed vertically over the VOR. You know are still flying along the 45 radial but we are getting distant from the VOR instead. To fly to a VOR, it is always better to dial a inwards radial of it, which is a radial allowing to the TO indicator. VORs, on a other hand, as far as VFR flight is concerned, are not used the way we just described, which is the way to be used for IFR flights, where a pilot is flying along routes as determined through radionav aids. In VFR, the use of a VOR must be limited to a help to safely determine a visual landmark which otherwise would be dubbious. If, for example, when charting a course, a landmark looks like it will be hard to safely determine, like a crossroad which may be confounded with a other one, you just will determine a VOR and a radial which comes along the landmark. In flight you will thus spot the landmark both visually and with the help of the VOR. The aligned needle of the chosen radial will confirm that you are overflying that landmark. Better still if you use a VOR-DME as the landmark will be defined with a distance too. Another use of a VOR for a VFR flight is that pilots often know on what radial of a given VOR their usual terrain is (and sometimes too with a DME distance). That allows, for example, after a training flight during which your maneuvers could have disorient you in terms of where your plane is, to easily found your terrain back through intercepting and following that radial

click on the picture to a view of how a VOR is used	click on the picture to a view of how to use a VOR to confirm a ground landmark during a VFR flight

• the pilot tune one of the plane's VOR receptors to the frequency of the VOR he wants to use
• a button on the receptor allows to identify the VOR by listening to the Morse code of it
• a VOR may be figured like a compass, from the center of which a radio emission would follow each graduation of it. Each of those lines is called a 'radial'. Each radial may be considered either from the point of view of its 'natural axis' -its heading FROM the VOR, or from the point of view of the axis opposite to that. The radials are used by the plane's receptor to tell where the plane is located relative to the VOR. Whatever the side a radial is used (on the side where it gets out of the VOR, or the side where it gets into it), its heading is the same: the one from the side the radial is leaving the VOR. Say, for example, you'll be using the radial 45 degree, the radial, that is, which is leaving the VOR in the northeast, at a 45 degree heading, you'll be able either to use it from that side, or from the southwest. In both cases, the radial will keep being the 45 degree one. In the first case, you'll be following the radial, getting distant FROM the VOR; in the other case, you'll be following the radial TO the VOR!
• the VORs, for the IFR flight, are used like the waypoints which define the aerial routes. The IFR pilots are flying from one VOR to the other, flying on one radial of a VOR
• to use the VOR from inside the plane, you'll be using the VOR gauges (VOR1 or 2). Such a gauge is bearing graduations and features one or two needles. A VOR gauge with one needle is used for VORs only; a VOR gauge with two needles is used both for VORs and the instruments approaches (ILS), those landing navaid helping IFR pilots to land. A VOR gauge features, at the bottom a OBS button
• VORs, for a VFR flight are mostly used to confirm a doubtful ground landmark only. The VORs being charted on the charts you'll use to plan a route, you'll just relate, when charting your course, the landmark to a VOR by drawing a draw starting at the VOR and finishing at the landmark. And just measure the angle done. You'll just get all that on your route sheet AND you'll just have to use the VOR during the flight to ascertain the landmark: at a distance enough before the landmark, you'll tune the VOR's frequency on one VOR receptor, set the radial chosen (TO, or FROM) at the gauge of the VOR, through the OBS button. The VOR needle then will generally be shifted relative to the center of the gauge as, as you'll get nearer and nearer to the landmark, it will get centered. When it will be dead center, you'll just be over the landmark! In case of a VOR-DME, the landmark, moreover, is confirmed by its distance (in nautical miles (NM)). You'll have calculated that distance when charting your course. When -and that's mostly the case of the flightsim pilots- one does not have a real aeronautical chart to plan one's course, a trick may be to use some software like the Encarta Atlas, for example; to copy-paste an area matching your flight (with an appropriate relief detail; in that case, you'll maybe be obliged to copy-paste several parts, and re-assemble them); to chart a VOR (from its coordinates in FS) under the form of a small compass you'll have draw yourself too -and to know the magnetic variation of that place in FS. Then, just measure any angle you'll use on that litte compass, and correct the angle measured with the magnetic variation

Advanced Pilotage

When a pilot is flying an airport traffic pattern around an averagely large terrain, with relatively much planes on the pattern, the air traffic control, which will have commanded you to use the pattern, will maybe ask to you to fly a 360 degree turn at the purpose of to regulate the planes aiming to land, from the traffic pattern. Or, as you'll be on a final to the runway, the plane which landed before you, maybe will not have vacuated the runway, bringing to that you'll decide -or be ordered- to go-around. Let's see that! (note: there are no specific checklists for those maneuvers, and the pilots will have to know them by heart; along one year, just force you to train twice of thrice for those)

- Waiting in the Pattern - Go-Around

Waiting in the Pattern

click on the picture to a view of the turn at a standard rate

Such a maneuver is meant to make you late on the traffic pattern, so the controllers will be able to regulate the planes on there. You'll just to turn level, during 360 degrees, at a speed of 90 kts, beginning where the air control will have ordered that to you. Most of the cases, you'll not have configured the plane for landing, in the downwind leg, already. The important point for that maneuver is the question of the 'turn at a standard rate'. The 360-degree turn you'll perform will have to be flown at a standard rate, using the turn indicator and coordinator on the panel. Just keep the plane symbol's wing inclined to the mark marked left (L) or right (R). The turn at a standard rate allows the controllers to know, function of the plane you're flying and of the speed at which you're flying, what time you'll need to perform the turn, allowing them to regulate the planes circulation on the traffic pattern. At the end of such a first turn, the tower might ask you another, until they tell you that you're cleared for the pattern back. Just begin your downwind leg then, after having turned 360 degrees, leaving from the downwind leg, at a standard rate of turn, relative to the downwind heading

Go-Around

It may occur, when you're on a final, that the tower -or yourself deeming it necessary- commands you to go-around. A go-around is when you're obliged to apply the throttles back, and to go-around (mostly for a new traffic pattern in most of the cases). The procedure is called too a 'rejected take off'. This will be caused mostly by a plane, having landed ahead of you, and which will not have vacuated the runway in due time. You MUST too to make a go-around when your final has been faulty and that you see that you'll miss your landing and that the latter risks to be dangerous. A final may be too high, too low, or too slow. When you'll have to decide by yourself (in the case of a landing at an uncontrolled terrain), YOU HAVE NO margin! Should there be a plane on the runway, should you deem your final faulty, YOU MUST go-around! Should you deem your final faulty as you're approaching the runway under the supervision of a tower, you'll have to ask the controller the permission to go-around (bringing to that, by the way, you'll have to take the decision early), or -should you have reached to low and near the threshold- just go-around, and radioe after. How do you do a go-around? YOU JUST don't land! Just pull the yoke, throttle full back, fly level for some time. Once the plane have accelerated enough, just get 2 notches of flaps out (thus back to a take off configuration -one notch) and, like for a usual take off, once the plane, then, accelerated up to the climb speed, just take the climb pitch. Then, just ask the tower, in the case of a controlled terrain, what you have to do. The tower usually will order you another traffic pattern, or they will give you a heading, altitude, a call at such waypoint, etc.)

When you'll train for those both maneuvers, just ask the authorization to do so to a controller, in case of a controlled airspace

Emergencies

Here is a delicate part of the training of a VFR pilot. A plane, generally, as far as her mechanical state is concerned, is checked and maintained regularly. Hence a failure in VFR is mostly rare. A failure may occur however! A second occurrence is more likely to occur, when a maneuver putting an important workload unto the pilot, brings to that the pilot's awareness is sliding and that he lets the plane to reach a dangerous flight attitude. Another case will be evoked too. In all those cases, the GA pilots are trained to control the plane, or to regain control of she!

- Engine Failures - Dangerous Flight Situations - Performing a 45 Degree-Banked Turn to get Out of a Cloud, or a Weather Front

Engine Failures

Every trained GA pilot knows how to handle a failure in four cases: an engine failure during flight, an engine failure after lift-off and an engine failure in an approach

• engine failure during flight: say that you're cruising at about 4,000 ft AGL as, suddenly, pfffff! The engine goes off. Well. What to do? JUST prepare the plane, pilots and the possible passengers for an emergency landing! For that emergency, each craft has her own checklist, as we will describe there a general one. The technique is that you'll have to swiftly try to start the engine back, to choose an emergency landing surface, to reach there while emitting an emergency call and configuring the plane. So: first, swiftly, you try to start the engine back (fuel: BOTH, mixture: FULL RICH (or according to the altitude), pump: ON, battery: ON, alternator: OFF, throttle: slightly forwards, magnetos: back to OFF then usual moves to START. Should the engine refuse to start, just then look around, in the landscape, an emergency landing surface you'll deem is suitable for an emergency landing -and able to be reached gliding as your plane now is just a glider. Should you fly above plains, any field without much grass will be enough; when the fields have been ploughed, or above forested areas, the trouble is larger, and you will just have to choose the less bad. Once you'll have chosen where you decided to land, NEVER change your mind and keep heading there! Just then tune your radio to the emergency frequency and radio an emergency call: 'Mayday, Mayday. November, 2, 3, 4, 5, Romeo; Cessna Skyhawk, engine failure. Currently 10 NM of ... Attempting an emergency landing!'. And you activate the plane's emergency beacon, should you plane feature one. Then, as you have begun your descent to the emergency surface, you configure the plane for a safe emergency landing: like usual: pilot's belt: FASTENED-LOCKED, passengers' (if any) belts: FASTENED-LOCKED, passengers (if any) briefing (there is a failure, emergency landing, possibly rough, get a survival position, coudes au corps, evacuation mode, etc.), doors: UNLOCKED, flaps: LIKE WANTED, trim: APPROPRIATE, fuel: CLOSED, brakes: NON PULLED-NON LOCKED, mixture: FULL LEAN, pitot heat: ON, strobe: OFF, fuel pump: OFF, battery: OFF, alternateur: OFF, magnetos: OFF. Thus configured you'll limit the risk of fire. Varying the flaps, keep your speed and the necessitated path to reach the landing surface at the landing speed (decreased somewhat, to attenuate the shock of the landing and not that much however to avoid any stall!). AND you just land, function of the actual nature of the terrain (finely, or not; appropriately). Once landed, you just evacuate the plane: open the doors, the passengers step out (if there are passengers); you yourself evacuate the first only if you have to help passengers to leave the plane. From now, nothing else, except to wait for help
• engine failure after lift-off: that time you're taking off, beginning the climb, and pfffff! No more engine! NO CHOICE. Not attempt to start the engine back. Just make an emergency landing straight ahead, whatever the terrain is! You wouldn't have enough speed for any turn
• engine failure in an approach (on the base leg of a traffic pattern): the engine goes off in the base leg! There too, the weak speed don't allow you to any re-start attempt. The case is less grave however: just abbreviate the leg by beginning immediately your descent and turning to the runway. Use varyingly the flaps to keep an appropriate speed as you will be back on the final's axis by the end of it. AND you land! Just radio immediately to the tower. A very swift checklist has to be: fuel: CLOSED, brakes: NON PULLED-NON LOCKED, mixture: FULL LEAN, throttles: FULL BACK, battery: OFF, alternateur: OFF, magnetos: OFF
• engine failure in an approach (on the downwind leg of a traffic pattern): the case is barely worse and the fix is about the same. No time either to try a re-start. JUST leave the downwind leg with a slight descent pitch and AIM the middle of the base leg -ahead of it, and below it however- and there just turn towards the runway. Modulate the flaps. The swift checklist is the same than before
• note: as far as training is concerned for those engine failures, VFR pilots do train for an engine failure in flight, in the base and downwind legs only. And the instructor (or the pilot) just simulate the failure. For an emergency in flight, just get the mixture full lean, which cuts the engine, magnetos: OFF as, few before to reach the landing surface, you'll get the mixture full rich back, and the magnetos ON, with the engine starting back and here you go, back to the sky. Meanwhile you'll have simulated the emergency checklist above (except for the flaps, the trim, pitot heat, strobe and fuel pump, you'll really have acted). For the base and downwind legs engine failure training, you won't cut the engine; one just gets the throttles full backwards and one trains, down to the landing (generally the pilots don't eventually halt as they throttle back and make a touch-and-go)

Dangerous Flight Situations

The aerodynamical forces are such that, in some phases of a flight which necessitate a hard workload by the pilot, some moments of unawareness only may lead your plane into a dangerous situation. Just react immediately to regain control! Else, the situation would just worsen and bring to a grave accident

• stall: a stall is a loss of the lift due to the plane's pitch becoming too much important relative to the speed; the air flow then becomes turbulent, and stops! With the plane 'falling', loosing altitude quickly. According to what is well known by the aviators, a stall may occur at any speed -the large ones included- as the lift's loss is due to the inadequacy between the wings' angle and the speed only. However, generally, as far as the GA is concerned, a stall often occurs at the feeble speeds. As the small speeds are used mostly in the airport environment -at low altitudes further- a stall is then dangerous: the feeble altitude combined with the stall will not allow the pilot to regain control! Prevention then, is the only solution! SO, just get aware that, during the maneuvers around a terrain, you must avoid any brutal action unto the controls and pilot 'easy' (thus, in a final, when you'll try to come back on the slope, from, below, just avoid pulling the yoke abruptly! Just apply full throttle and let the plane get to the slope, with just some pull only on the yoke; and watch the airspeed indicator). In any case, the stall speed of a plane is indicated, on the airpeed indicator, by the end of the green arc; when the needle is nearing that zone, just be careful! DANGER! A stall, in the cabin, is triggering the stall horn as, at the yoke, you'll feel the plane vibrating. To train for stall and how to regain control, just procede like: first, climb to a safety altitude of about 5,000 ft and put the plane on a level flight. AND pull on the yoke to put the plane into a relatively important climb pitch (about 30 degrees). The speed, at the airspeed indicator will fall. About 70 kts, just throttle back. You thus accentuate the speed loss, AND keep pulling on the yoke! The needle reaches the white area... AND the plane stalls! With the stall horn resounding, and the plane's nose abruptly stalling. Here's for the stall. How do you regain control now? JUST 'accompany' the stall, with, when the plane's nose stalls, just push the yoke forwards -that will help the plane down- AND you full throttle! The plane in a dive, and with the throttles, she will accelerate and be controlable back! Simple! The air flow is back to lift. Now you can pull the yoke back and brings the plane back to level! Just remember too that, for that training, you'll see how you're leaving such altitude at the beginning of the maneuver, stall, and be back then to that altitude. Such a training is fine and amusing. So, just practice from time to time! Prevention however, and the awareness, remains the main way to prevent stalls!
  (note: that video bears the site's ancient reference)
• spin: a spin is a dissymetrical stall where the plane loose lift from one wing due to that, at a slow speed, not enough rudder coordination has been performed when putting the plane into a turn. Like for the stall, such a situation may occur mostly in the airport environment. For a reason or another, with the plane flying slowly, you'll put yoke and too much rudder in the same direction. Reaching stall speed the just enters a spin, which is a dissymetrical stall. VERY DANGEROUS! How to avoid that? Mostly through prevention, just like for a stall: when you are flying low and slow, always remember that you must coordinate any turn: ANY yoke action must come with a rudder action! To train for spins, just climb to a safety altitude, and place voluntarily the plane into a spin: pull the yoke, throttle full out, begin a turn AND put a maximum rudder into the turn! The plane enters a spin in the direction of the turn. How to recover, now? JUST IMMEDIATELY and ENERGITICALLY counter-control! FULL YOKE AND FULL RUDDER to the opposite of the spin and THEN, just like for a stall, 'accompany' the plane in the dive, throttle back, and let she regain its speed, AND regaining the air flow, and control. Just remember that such a spin along an airport traffic pattern, for example, is mostly dangerous!

Performing a 45 Degree-Banked Turn to get Out of a Cloud, or a Weather Front

It may occur that, when performing a VFR flight, the weather deteriorates and that a weather front forbids you to go any further. What to do. First, just act quickly! You have NO OTHER CHOICE than to make a 180-degree turn, as, as a VFR pilot, you'll fall into IFR conditions. So, once you assessed that the weather front blocks your route and forbids any safe flight further, JUST perform a 180-degree turn to take the opposite route of the one you were following. Thus, should you have been to a 355° heading, just make a 180-degree turn to a 175° one! That turn, FURTHER, is to be performed quickly! Hence the turn will have to be performed at an important bank. 45°! On the attitude indicator, a bank of 45° is spotted through the lowest white draw in the lower part of the gauge. Well: having noted the heading at which you were flying, just bank the plane visually (visual clue horizon-panel) AND with the attitude indicator (the 45° mark), and you turn. A steep turn will need that you pull the yoke strongly enough, during the turn to prevent any altitude loss. AND you'll just keep the 45° bank (at the attitude indicator only now) until the 180-degree turn is completed! You just then stops the turn -and note how to get out of a highly banked turn needs some more time than to get out of an usual turn; anticipate- and you're back to the opposite of your route! A 45°-banked turn is, in a sense, a first experience of a flight with the instruments only. You may train for the 45 degree-banked turn anyway, at a sufficient altitude and after having got ascertained that you can train safely!