ILS Testing

[Kenny Taylor]

One of the rentals I have access to has an ILS receiver but no GPS or DME. I'm working on the instrument rating and recall that the VOR needs to be tested against a VOT within the past 30 days. The VOT does not provide glideslope data, far as I can tell, so probably does not count towards testing of the ILS.

What's the process and timeline for testing of the ILS receiver?

 

[NordicDave]

There isn't a requirement to periodically test and record the ILS capability like the VOR receiver. For peace of mind, I shoot shoot an ILS approach periodically to verify all is working as required.

Also there are alternatives to testing the VOR against a VOT, but the procedure depends on whether or not there are 1 or 2 VOR receivers in the ship.

https://www.boldmethod.com/learn-to-fly/systems/check-ifr-navaid-accuracy-before-takeoff-vor-check/

 

[chemgeek]

On every ILS approach, you should crosscheck the altitude at the FAF with the vertical deviation indicator centered. This is not a regulatory check, but is a sanity check that your glideslope receiver and/or CDI is functioning properly. I experienced a stuck glideslope CDI during training, and we caught it when the FAF altitude was not what it was supposed to be. (I wondered how I was flying such a perfect ILS.) The LOC receiver is not checkable like a VOR, per se, as it is not keyed to the OBS setting. You can do a sanity check on the LOC function by crosschecking with a GPS unit.