Have you ever...

Upgrade the entire fleet, and I might be taking your side of the argument
(actually, it would be moot {8^). But as long as VORs are actually in the
aircraft (and I don't mean a fancy VOR-exploiting moving map RNAV type
machine {8^), the pilots flying those should learn them.

I agree 100% that a pilot should learn to use EVERYTHING in the panel. But
does this specialized knowledge need to be tested on the Private written
exam? Are there questions about using audio panels on the Private written?
Intercoms? Auto pilots?

I guess that's really the crux of the issue. Should we be testing new
Private pilots to make sure they are safe fliers, or should we be testing
them to some level beyond that?

I would contend that in the year 2005 navigation via VORs rests squarely in
the "optional knowledge" category, and should not be on the Private written.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

I agree 100% that a pilot should learn to use EVERYTHING in the panel.
But does this specialized knowledge need to be tested on the Private
written
exam? Are there questions about using audio panels on the Private
written?
Intercoms? Auto pilots?

If APs or Audio Panels were sufficiently standard, they might appear. VORs
are sufficiently standard.

The idea is to save expense and time, I'd think. Testing on a written is
cheaper for everyone involved than testing in the air (ie. a checkride).

[...]
I would contend that in the year 2005 navigation via VORs rests squarely
in the "optional knowledge" category, and should not be on the Private
written.

Even when victor airways were "the" way to navigate, plenty still got by
with eyes, maps, and clocks. So, in theory, VORs have *always* been
optional. Apparently, that's not sufficient to keep them off.

- Andrew

"Andrew Gideon" wrote in message
agonline.com...
Upgrade the entire fleet, and I might be taking your side of the argument
(actually, it would be moot {8^).

Actually, I believe that the FAA could probably upgrade every plane in the
US with a GPS for what it spends in yearly VOR maintenance and operation...

Interestingly enough, VORs and ADFs aren't even talked about in the UK PPL
except in the "that thing in the panel there is a VOR. Don't worry about
it" kind of sense. That stuff's considered advanced instrument equipment
and FAR to complicated for the average PPL to learn about without his brains
leaking out his ears.

Shawn


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:PGA7e.14356$xL4.13659@attbi_s72...
After I got tired of that and removed the hood, I asked "so, where are
we".
He laughed and told me that I was supposed to figure it out. So I did.

This seems rather useful to me. Why eliminate it?

You figured out your position using VORs? What decade was this? ;-)

Can I do that? Sure. Can I name the last time I needed to know that?
Nope. Can I even name the last time I did it? Nope.

If, in ten years and nearly 1000 hours of flying, I've never needed to
figure out my position by looking at the face of my VOR, as if I'd
suddenly awakened in my plane and didn't have a clue where I was, what the
hell is it doing on the written exam for Private Pilot? Who in the world
uses VORs for daily flight anymore?

I know, a lot of you guys do. Despite the fact that you've probably got a
Garmin/Lowrance/AvMap on your yoke that is 500 - 1000 times more accurate
and intuitive than your old 1953 Narco 12, you feel compelled to "follow
the needle" cuz that's what you're used to doing. Have fun, but don't
fool yourself into believing that this is a necessary or common way of
flying anymore. It *can* be eliminated from the Private Pilot
curriculum, right along with ADFs.

Which isn't to say that tracking a VOR isn't kind of fun, and (for those
of us at the bottom of the aviation food chain) still necessary for IFR
flight. But for regular, VFR navigation, VORs have pretty much outlived
their usefulness.

Oh, well. Keep VOR questions on the written exam for Instrument Pilot,
for the moment. In five more years everything will be GPS based, and
interpreting a VOR will be like knowing how to gauge your position by
listening to two tones in your headset.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"