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#1
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Why The Hell... (random rant)
Are VOR's all MH based?
I was flightplanning the other day (I must be one of the few poor souls left who flight-plans by hand... I guess I just haven't been flying long enough to get sick of it yet, I consider my flight planning to be 'part of the experience') And I got to thinking- Why in gods name are VOR's Mag heading based? I know, ideally, that means that you can sync your DG and your VOR indicator to fly to a waypoint... except that most VOR's around here have long since fallen behind Magnetic drift... so - now, not only do you have to flightplan in True Heading, convert to Mag Heading to get your vectors, THEN you have to get the corrective factor for each of the VOR's your using for navigation and note that as well? huh? I'm sorry... call me lazy, but if your not going to keep them all updated with Magnetic north, then at least stick them on a standard baseline... True North, for example? /rantoff. |
#2
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Why The Hell... (random rant)
EridanMan writes:
I'm sorry... call me lazy, but if your not going to keep them all updated with Magnetic north, then at least stick them on a standard baseline... True North, for example? I think aviation should have started moving towards true north for everything long ago, but that's just me. The constant shifting of the magnetic poles (which is accelerating) means perpetual updates for anything that depends on magnetic north (and you can't use magnetic south, because it isn't even exactly opposite magnetic north). -- Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail. |
#3
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Why The Hell... (random rant)
In rec.aviation.piloting EridanMan wrote:
Are VOR's all MH based? I was flightplanning the other day (I must be one of the few poor souls left who flight-plans by hand... I guess I just haven't been flying long enough to get sick of it yet, I consider my flight planning to be 'part of the experience') And I got to thinking- Why in gods name are VOR's Mag heading based? You got a true north compass in your airplane? I know, ideally, that means that you can sync your DG and your VOR indicator to fly to a waypoint... except that most VOR's around here have long since fallen behind Magnetic drift... so - now, not only do you have to flightplan in True Heading, convert to Mag Heading to get your vectors, THEN you have to get the corrective factor for each of the VOR's your using for navigation and note that as well? huh? Center the needle and keep it centered? I'm sorry... call me lazy, but if your not going to keep them all updated with Magnetic north, then at least stick them on a standard baseline... True North, for example? If the drift is sufficient ( 2 or 3 degrees, I forget the number; it's in the AIM ) they are supposed to be recalibrated. The uncertainty in the wind drift angle is usually a lot more than that. There are lots of free flight planners that do all that for you. Golden Eagle for DUATS corrects for everything but your compass error and is free. -- Jim Pennino Remove .spam.sux to reply. |
#4
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Why The Hell... (random rant)
EridanMan wrote:
Are VOR's all MH based? Because all of the pilot's navigational faculties are magnetic, too. most VOR's around here have long since fallen behind Magnetic drift... By how much, and where is "here", if you don't mind my asking? you have to flightplan in True Heading, convert to Mag Heading to get your vectors, THEN you have to get the corrective factor for each of the VOR's your using for navigation and note that as well? huh? But why do that if the winds you get in a preflight are already in MH? Wouldn't it be simpler to calc your MH's, and then use the corrective factors you need to find the "real" radial you should follow? TheSmokingGnu PS: Don't worry, I still do things by hand, too. |
#5
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Why The Hell... (random rant)
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#6
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Why The Hell... (random rant)
In rec.aviation.piloting Mxsmanic wrote:
EridanMan writes: I'm sorry... call me lazy, but if your not going to keep them all updated with Magnetic north, then at least stick them on a standard baseline... True North, for example? I think aviation should have started moving towards true north for everything long ago, but that's just me. The constant shifting of the magnetic poles (which is accelerating) means perpetual updates for anything that depends on magnetic north (and you can't use magnetic south, because it isn't even exactly opposite magnetic north). Where do you get a true north compass? Your comment about magnetic south being unusable is just asinine. -- Jim Pennino Remove .spam.sux to reply. |
#7
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Why The Hell... (random rant)
In rec.aviation.piloting TheSmokingGnu wrote:
EridanMan wrote: Are VOR's all MH based? Because all of the pilot's navigational faculties are magnetic, too. most VOR's around here have long since fallen behind Magnetic drift... By how much, and where is "here", if you don't mind my asking? you have to flightplan in True Heading, convert to Mag Heading to get your vectors, THEN you have to get the corrective factor for each of the VOR's your using for navigation and note that as well? huh? But why do that if the winds you get in a preflight are already in MH? Wouldn't it be simpler to calc your MH's, and then use the corrective factors you need to find the "real" radial you should follow? TheSmokingGnu PS: Don't worry, I still do things by hand, too. The radial to follow doesn't change with the wind, only your heading. If you are following a VOR radial, you can ignore wind altogether and just point the nose in whatever direction keeps the needle centered. -- Jim Pennino Remove .spam.sux to reply. |
#8
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Why The Hell... (random rant)
On Apr 3, 8:33 pm, "EridanMan" wrote:
Are VOR's all MH based? I was flightplanning the other day (I must be one of the few poor souls left who flight-plans by hand... I guess I just haven't been flying long enough to get sick of it yet, I consider my flight planning to be 'part of the experience') And I got to thinking- Why in gods name are VOR's Mag heading based? I know, ideally, that means that you can sync your DG and your VOR indicator to fly to a waypoint... except that most VOR's around here have long since fallen behind Magnetic drift... so - now, not only do you have to flightplan in True Heading, convert to Mag Heading to get your vectors, THEN you have to get the corrective factor for each of the VOR's your using for navigation and note that as well? huh? I'm sorry... call me lazy, but if your not going to keep them all updated with Magnetic north, then at least stick them on a standard baseline... True North, for example? /rantoff. My compass is MH. -Robert |
#9
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Why The Hell... (random rant)
In rec.aviation.piloting TheSmokingGnu wrote:
wrote: If the drift is sufficient ( 2 or 3 degrees, I forget the number; it's in the AIM ) they are supposed to be recalibrated. FAR 91.171, VOR Equipment checks. 4 degree variation if using a VOT or other ground-based testing sites/equipment. 6 degrees if using a designated airborne test point, or using a dead reckoning technique. No more than 4 degrees variation between the radios of a dual VOR setup. Nothing about the accuracy of the VOR station itself, though. If they're really bad, I would file a report with the nearest FSDO. TheSmokingGnu I thought I saw somewhere in there a spec for the VOR station drift. Maybe it was somewhere else; so many regs, circulars, advisory letters, so little time... I know there are limits somewhere. -- Jim Pennino Remove .spam.sux to reply. |
#10
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Why The Hell... (random rant)
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