I've used this analogy many times to explain VOR operation to students.. but
using one rotating beacon and the flash.. I like the idea of adding the horn
for the distance.

BT

"Mark Hansen" wrote in message
...
On 06/13/06 12:08, Jim Macklin wrote:
Just like the rotating beacon at the airport, the two lights are 180
apart and rotate on the common shaft.

Yes, you could have just one light rotating, but two identifiable beacons
makes the system more useable and faster.

English lesson... "white beacon passing North...green beacon sweeps by"
Seems that both are moving.

Thanks, but I don't really need the English lesson.
Your description made it sound like there were two rotating
beacons, and I couldn't see why that was necessary to make
the point. I asked the question so you could clarify.

Having one rotating beacon seems to illustrate the functionality.
If the point is to make the system easy for a student pilot to
understand, why not keep it simple?

The "useable[sic] and faster" issue isn't really necessary for
the student to understand how the system works, IMHO :-)

I do like the analogy, though.

Thanks,





"Mark Hansen" wrote in message
...
| On 06/13/06 11:15, Jim Macklin wrote:
| You can explain how a VOR/DME works with a simple visual
| model.
|
| There is a large lake with an island in the middle. There
| is a lighthouse with a rotating beacon that makes one
| revolution a minute. It has a white beacon and a green
| beacon, when the white beacon is passing North, a big strobe
| light on top flashes and a very loud horn sounds.
|
| You see the strobe light flash and 6 seconds later see the
| green beacon sweep by. Where are you? 216 degrees from the
| beacon. Ten seconds after the strobe, you hear the horn,
| how far away? 2 miles.
|
| So are both the white and green beacons rotating?
|
| Don't you just need an omnidirectional strobe (with horn for
| distance measurements) and a single rotating beacon?
|
|
| VOR is the same, just faster.
|
|
| Steer your boat so the bow always points to the light and
| you've got an ADF homer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| --
| Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane
| Cal Aggie Flying Farmers
| Sacramento, CA



--
Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane
Cal Aggie Flying Farmers
Sacramento, CA