VOR Only Instrument Flying

[luvflyin]

I think the workload depends a lot on how familiar you are with the GPS. There is definitely a learning curve.

Yeah. Like almost anything else, repetition helps. But at the end of the day, regardless of how good you get at the pushing, clicking, turning and tapping, there are a lot more 'tasks' to complete.

 

[Pinecone]

View attachment 108544

Yeap. Naval Academy stopped teaching celestial navigation, as it was no longer needed.

Ooops, sometimes the electronics don't work, so they put it back into the curriculum.

And MANY years ago, someone did study of groundings by long distance cruising sailboats. EVERY one that went aground had a satnav. Even though only about 20% of that population had satnav equipment.

 

[Palmpilot]

On the other hand, in CAP I have noticed that alerts for missing aircraft have become far more rare now that so many of them have at least a handheld GPS on board. I can't remember when the last search in the Sierras occurred, so CFIT seems to have decreased greatly.

 

[WDD]

Luvflyin is a VOR aviation Ninja. I would be perfectly fine being in the plane with you as PIC “twisting and turning”!

Yes - must train on the GPS system. Heck, I bought the XPlane GTN 650 add in just for that. It’s probably more complicated- but it is doing more things. Once you master it it seems easy

 

[flyingron]

View attachment 108544

This was on the bridge of the ship from my last cruise:

\

 

[Palmpilot]

...Heck, I bought the XPlane GTN 650 add in just for that....

Oooh, me want! Who sells that?

 

[WDD]

Oooh, me want! Who sells that?

Reality XP - Home

Reality XP - Home (reality-xp.com)

I run this add on off of an old touch screen tablet which is about the same size as the actual GTN.

 

[Pinecone]

On the other hand, in CAP I have noticed that alerts for missing aircraft have become far more rare now that so many of them have at least a handheld GPS on board. I can't remember when the last search in the Sierras occurred, so CFIT seems to have decreased greatly.

406 ELT and internal or linked GPS.

406 hits the sat with a position within a few meters. Not much search required.

 

[chemgeek]

Can you fly IFR with only one VOR? Yes. Would you want to? Single pilot, single VOR IFR will be a handful, especially for a typical private pilot in a system that is now GPS-centric, and where many VORs are decommissioned or frequently to permanently "out of service." Personally, I would want more than one functional, IFR-approved nav device in any plane operated IFR. And to be honest, WAAS (IFR) GPS is de rigueur these days. It makes IFR so much simpler and more efficient, and even here in the NE, you can often get direct to many destinations after initial contact.

Near my home airport, virtually all the formerly nearby VORs have been decommissioned due to MON. IFR departures are now directed to a more distant VOR fix that is usually in the opposite direction than the most common directions of flight. It's really annoying. If you have GPS, you can usually get direct destination or a more suitable enroute fix as soon as radar contact. Otherwise, it's off to the distant VOR or vectors until you can get direct to an operational VOR or intercept a functional Victor airway, which are now fewer and farther between in the northeast. GPS is easier, and almost certainly safer for IFR operation, especially for the part-time IFR pilot. I can still fly the old way (how I learned pre-GPS) but it's now relegated to emergency, not routine ops. We do have GPS outages, but I haven't been caught in any of them yet. If GPS is out, and my field is IFR, I'm not getting in, as all we got are GPS approaches. (And that's another utility issue with having only VOR/LOC equipment.)

 

[WDD]

406 ELT and internal or linked GPS.

406 hits the sat with a position within a few meters. Not much search required.

I was watching an AvWeb about this. Most searches are successful from flight tracking. The ELT’s aren’t really that effective - don’t go off, etc.