English version 2.

1, September 2004

This tutorial has been translated for Tradewind Caribbean Airlines,

http://www.tradewind.org

Text: Jeroen Blanken

Special thanks to Rick Nathan, TCA Pilot #2519
Pictures and Cover design: Bas Blanken

Cover picture: Cessna Skyhawk 172, http://www.cessna.com/

Charts are from:

• Dauntless software Simplates, http://www.dauntless-soft.com/
• Jeppesen, http://www.jeppesen.com/

THIS TUTORIAL IS NOT FOR REAL-WORLD USE! THE AUTHOR TAKES NO

RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE USE OF THIS
TUTORIAL!

All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by

any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior
permission of the publisher.

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 2

 Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................. 4

VOR Navigation .......................................................................................................... 5

NDB Navigation .......................................................................................................... 8

VOR Approach ........................................................................................................... 9

ILS Approach ............................................................................................................ 12

Airways ..................................................................................................................... 15

SID & STAR.............................................................................................................. 17

Wordlist..................................................................................................................... 19

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 3

 Introduction

This tutorial has been written for the more advanced pilot. If you’re not yet a more
advanced pilot, I recommend you first follow the flight training program that’s built into
Microsoft’s Flight Simulator.

If you need any charts, you can find some in Microsoft’s Flight Simulator. You can
buy real-world charts at aviation shops often located at larger airports. Here in the
Netherlands, you can find one near Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport
(http://www.lhshop.nl), or at Lelystad Airport (http://www.pilotshop.nl). Lelystad Airport
is about 1 hour from Schiphol by train, and about the same by car. At Lelystad you
can also find the national aviation museum Aviodrome, with some highlights like the
only flying DC-2 in the World and a Lockheed Constellation, also flyable.

Another way to get charts, is to buy a software program like “Jeppesen Simcharts” or
“Simplates 2004”. This is much cheaper, because these programs contain a lot of
charts which aren’t in effect anymore. These programs are for sale at international
flightsim stores, so they’re easy to get. You can also find complete real world charts
at Sporty’s Pilot Shop online (http://www.sportys.com/takeoff/).

The best way to learn IFR flying, is to read this tutorial completely, practice a lot, and
then read the whole tutorial again. This tutorial doesn’t contain all the situations which
exist, but but I think you can handle most of them after reading this tutorial. If you see
a word you don’t know, turn to page 19, you can find a wordlist there.

Good luck!

Jeroen Blanken
TCA Pilot #3158

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 4

 VOR Navigation

VOR stands for “Very High Frequency Omnidirectional

Range”. The principle of the system is as follows; On the
ground, there’s a beacon which transmits 2 signals to all
directions, that is, all 360 degrees of the compass.
These signals are called “Radials”. You can find a
schematic on figure 1. As you can probably see, you
actually choose a line to fly on. To find out just how the
VOR works look in the flight simulator under the
‘Learning Center’ and then the ‘Navigation’ section.

To navigate on VOR’s, your aircraft needs specialized

equipment; a VOR indicator and a VOR receiver. In this
tutorial we will use the Cessna 172 for all examples. You Figure 1: Schematic of a VOR
can find the VOR receiver in the radiostack. Press Shift
+ 2 to display the radio stack. DME can be very useful also. DME stands for
“Distance Measuring Equipment”. The function? It does just what it’s named; It
measures the distance to a beacon. Not all VOR’s are equipped with DME, and a
‘stand-alone’ DME station is also possible. You can read the measured distance at
the upper right corner of the cockpit and in the radiostack.

The VOR gauge in the cockpit can detect

whether you are approaching or flying away from
a VOR beacon and will indicate this.

For the moment use only use one VOR at a time

(It’s a normal procedure to configure VOR1). You
can do this by going to the radiostack, and then
place your mouse cursor at the standby
frequency of the VOR1 receiver (The most right
frequency of NAV1). The mouse cursor will then
change into a little hand with a + or – in it,
depending on whether your cursor is on the left
or right side of the frequency. By clicking, the
frequency will respectively go up or down.

Did you enter the right frequency? Click on the

button with the two small arrows located below
the word ‘STBY’ (Standby) on the NAV1 radio to
activate the frequency. The frequency you
selected will then switch places with the active
frequency on the VOR1 receiver to become the
new active frequency. After the configuration,
Figure 2: The VOR receivers are at the you have to verify if you really entered the
right side of the panel.
correct frequency. You can do this by going to
the AUDIO panel at the top of the radio stack and pressing the button with “NAV1” on
it. This button shows it’s active by displaying a green light below it and is called the
“Ident switch”. If you’ve entered the right frequency, you will now hear some beep
sounds. This is a shortened name of the VOR station in Morse code. You can find the

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 5

morse code name of a station on charts. Morse code is very simple to translate;
when you look up the code and see a dot, you should hear a
short beep. If you see a stripe or dash, you should hear a long
beep. If you’ve positively identified the station, you can turn
off the ident Switch on the AUDIO panel.

Now you’ve configured the receiver, we’ll look at the VOR

indicator. On figure 3, you can see both VOR indicators
illustrated. As you’ll see, VOR1 is not the same as VOR2.
VOR1 has 2 needles. The horizontal needle is used for ILS
landings. In this chapter I will only discuss the vertical needle.
The vertical needle is called the “Track deviation indicator”
(TDI). The gauge has a rotary button at its lower left corner.
This rotary button is called the “Omni Bearing Selector”
(OBS). You can choose a radial by rotating the OBS. You can
adjust this gauge the same way you did with frequency. Play
your mouse cursor near the button, and when the cursor
arrow has changed into a little hand, click your left mouse
button. On figure 3, you can see the word “NAV”, and next to Figure 3: The VOR1 &
it, you can see a little red/white striped sign. This means VOR2 indicator
there’s no VOR reception (This will also happen if you’re
flying over the top of a VOR beacon). The symbol will, as soon there’s reception,
change into an arrow pointing up (if you’re flying to the VOR) or down (If you’re flying
away from the VOR).

How do you navigate on VOR’s? It’s relatively simple to understand, it only demands
some practice. The TDI in the indicator will actually display the radial of the VOR
beacon. You can see this on figure 4.

Figure 4: The best way to intercept a VOR radial. Every aircraft has the corresponding indicator near it.
One way to get to the VOR, is to add or subtract 30 degrees to the radial you just set
in the gauge. In this example, 060 + 030 makes a heading of 090 degrees. The 30
degree used for this approach is just a rule of thumb. If you’re close to a VOR, you
may have to add or subtract more than 30 degrees.

Ok, now we’ll fly to the VOR. First, we turn right to a heading of 090 degrees. Now
watch your TDI. As soon as it’s moving toward the center (you know you are

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 6

approaching the radial you’ve selected), slowly change course back to a heading of
060 degrees. (Use standard rate turns. See the wordlist for more explanation.) If
everything went well, you will now be flying at a heading of 060 and lined up on the
radial. The TDI should be centered vertically in the gauge. It might take some time to
successfully intercept a VOR radial. As soon as you’re stabilized on the radial, and
you’re getting closer to the VOR, the needle will become more sensitive. When you’re
just a few miles away from the VOR, do NOT try to keep following the needle! This is
almost impossible! Just keep on a heading of 060 and steering to correct for winds.

Here are some examples of VOR indicator situations;

Figure 5: You’re in the Figure 6: You’re in the Figure 7: You’re in the Figure 8: You’re in the
TO section (The arrow TO section, and you have TO section, and you’re FROM section (The
points up), and you have to fly to the right. exactly on course. Do not arrow points down), and
to fly to the left change course except for you’re on the radial
wind corrections. flying away from the
VOR

The procedure I just discussed, assumed that you’re flying a straight line over a VOR.
It’s also possible to do a turn above a VOR. When you want do this, you have to
calculate the distance to begin your turn using the speed of the aircraft. You have to
start your turn before you reach the VOR. To find the distance from the VOR you
have to start your turn, you can use the following formula;
1
% × Groundspee d + 0,8 NM
2

Ground speed is read from the GPS

(“GSxxx kts”). When there’s no wind,
the ground speed is the same as your
true airspeed. With help from the DME,
you can see when you have to start the
turn. Make the turn at the standard
rate. In this situation, your VOR2
comes in handy.

Figure 9: Procedure to do a turn with help of a

VOR

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 7

 NDB Navigation

NDB is short for “Non – Directional Beacon”. Navigating with an NDB is relatively
simple compared to navigating with a VOR. As every advantage has its
disadvantage, an NDB is unfortunately less
precise than a VOR. The NDB transmits only one
signal.

To navigate on NDB’s you’ll need an ADF

receiver and an ADF indicator. Don’t ask me why
they chose the word ADF and not NDB
receiver/indicator. ADF stands for “Automatic
Direction Finder”.

To use an NDB, you just start entering the NDB

frequency on the ADF radio. After this, you verify
Figure 10: Required equipment for the frequency in the same way you did with
NDB navigation VOR’s using the AUDIO panel.

The ADF indicator consists of several different components; a needle that points
toward the NDB beacon, and a rotary button (on the lower left of the gauge) to turn
the dial.

Navigating on an NDB. The only thing you have to do is follow the needle. Rotate the
dial, with your current heading at the top of the gauge. The needle will point to the
beacon and it will indicate on the dial what course you need to fly to go to the beacon
or what direction the beacon lies from your course.

The buttons below the ADF receiver have functions like a stopwatch, a testfunction,
and a button for audio information from the station. These buttons are not simulated
in Microsoft’s Flight Simulator. In most smaller aircraft, there’s only one ADF receiver
installed. Most larger aircraft have two of them.

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 8

 VOR Approach

Introduction
This tutorial will show you how to do a VOR approach on Snohomish county,
Washington. You’ve already learned the principal of intercepting a VOR in another
chapter. For this tutorial, you’ll need a chart (you can find it on page 11). There are
several terms you probably already know. If this is not the case, you can find them in
the wordlist on page 19.

The chart
Look at the chart and I will explain the different components used on a VOR
approach chart. In the upper left you can find the ICAO code of the airport, and just
below you can find the name of the airport. In the middle, below the Jeppesen logo,
you can see the date the chart was released, and the date the chart becomes active
or useable. Between these two dates, you see an oval with an index number. The
oval means this is a standard chart. On the top line at the far right you can see the
geographical location, and below this the type of approach.

Below this basic information, there is a “Briefing Strip”. This strip contains frequencies
for ATIS, regional ATC services, tower frequency, ground frequency, and the most
important beacon near the airport. You can also find the “Final approach course”, the
“Final Approach Fix” (FAF), the “Minimum Descent Altitude”(MDA), and the altitude of
the airport. Below these frequencies is a description of the Missed Approach
proceedure. On the right, you can find the “Minimum Sector Altitude” (MSA).

Below the Briefing Strip you can find the route that has to be flown during the
approach. If you’re flying a ‘normal’ approach, without any incidents, you’ll only fly on
the thick black line. On this black line a little cross (“4.0 NM to MAP”) has been
drawn. This cross indicates a ‘fix’ for the so-called GPS-B approach. The thin black
line is the route that has to be flown in case of a holding pattern is requested, and the
thick dotted black line is the “Missed Approach Procedure” (MAP). Furthermore you
can see the following symbol southeast of the airport; This symbol means there
are no obstacles below 1000 feet AGL, and the arrow next to it gives some more
explanation; The highest obstacle in this area has an altitude of 865 feet.

Now look at the descent profile located in a large window below the airport approach
pattern. This part of the chart shows the altitudes to follow during the descent. It’s
important to precisely follow them, so you won’t have to dive down to the runway at
the last moment.

Below the descend profile you can find a table with the MAP. In this case a ‘Missed
Approach’ is executed above the VOR, independent of the aircraft speed. Next to the
table you can see the missed approach procedure again, but now in symbols. The
last table (“Circle to land”) is used to land using the traffic pattern.

The approach

The approach always starts at the Initial Approach Fix (IAF). In this case, the IAF is
Paine VOR (PAE). We’ll be flying from the east on a heading of 270° at an altitude of
9000 feet. Now look at the MSA (The circle on the right side of the briefing strip).

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 9

You’ll see the minimum altitude is 8000 feet. You are allowed to descend 1000 feet to
8000 feet. Now enter the frequency of the VOR PAE (110.6) into the VOR1 receiver.
You’ll see the thick black line pointing to a heading of 340, so rotate the OBS to 340.
Now the beacon is configured, you can intercept the radial of the VOR.

As soon as you’ve passed the VOR, you can see a funnel-like symbol with the text
“VOR” on top in the descend path of the chart. This is the symbol for the VOR Paine.
After that, the black line goes downward, which means you are allowed to descend.
How much? You can see that you may decend until the line is horizontal again at
2000 feet MSL.

It’s mandatory to stay within a range of 10NM from Paine VOR. Within this range, you
need to have executed the so called “Procedure Turn”. You can use the ruler on the
left to estimate the latest possible moment to start the turn. In this example, this is
about 6,5 NM from Paine. Now tha you know this distance, you can turn left to a
heading of 295 (It’s very important to execute this and all future turns at standard
rates). When the turn is complete, check the time. Optionally, you can start the
stopwatch. When you’ve flown for 1 minute on heading 2950, do a right turn to
heading 115°. You now should be at an altitude of 2000 feet! Now watch your VOR1.
As soon as the needle starts moving to the center, carefully start turning right to 160°.

As you’ve probably seen in the descend profile, it’s now allowed to descend further.
This time, you won’t see an altitude given, but an “M” at the Missed approach point.
This “M” is an altitude, but it depends on your approach speed. In the case of our
Cessna 172, the approach speed is about 65-75 knots. Now you can read the table
on the lower right. As you’ll see, 65-75 knots is category A. The “M” is equal to 1060
feet. You’re required to to maintain this altitude until you’ve got the runway in sight. If
you don’t see the runway at “M”, you’ll have to execute a missed approach
procedure.

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 10

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 11
 ILS Approach

Introduction
This tutorial will teach you how to perform a so-called ILS approach or Instument
Landing System approach. For this tutorial you will need a special chart, you can find
it on page 14.

The main difference between a VOR and an ILS approach is the difference in seeing
the approach or using instruments to make the approach. You can execute an ILS
approach with very little sight. The ILS system has some similarities with VOR. In
fact, with ILS, there’s a special kind of VOR placed in the runway. The ILS gauge
uses 2 needles; the vertical needle is called the “localizer” and works just like the TDI
to display the course. The horizontal needle is called the “Glideslope” and displays
the descent path to the runway. If I talk about the ILS or ILS beam, then we talk about
the glideslope and localizer together. (Please note that at some approaches there is
only a localizer or glideslope available and not both!). You always enter the ILS
frequency in the NAV1 receiver and its indicated on the VOR1 gauge, because the
VOR2 indicator isn’t capable of showing the glideslope. You don’t have to enter a
radial to fly to the VOR but personally I always enter it, so I can use it as a quick
reminder of the course to the runway in case I forget the heading.

The chart
As you can see, this chart looks a lot like the VOR approach chart. Because of this,
I’ll only explain the new sections. The first difference compared to the VOR chart, is
the text in the briefing strip; “LOC IPAE 109.3” (LOC is short for Localizer). When we
look further, we’ll see “GS LOM 3000’”. This is the altitude of the glideslope on
“LOM”. LOM is the NDB, RITTS. Next to this, we can find the lowest possible
decision altitude. In the case of ILS, there are often several decision altitudes, I’ll talk
about this in detail later.

The two graphics contain only one new symbol; the large arrow. This arrow stands
for the ILS beam.

Now were at the little table below the decent strip. This table gives information about
the most efficient descent path. You can use this table if you, for any reason (e.g.
technical problems) aren’t able to use the glideslope. An approach without a
glideslope is called a “Glideslope out approach”.

You’ll use the table as follows; Look at the first column, at the lower cell. This cell
shows you which part of the approach you can use the table. This table is used for
the section LOM to MAP. The distance between these points is 7,9 NM (RITTS NDB
to the missed approach point). Now look at the upper row, and choose your current
ground speed. Below this ground speed you’ll find a number. For example; 70 kts has
356 below it. This means that, with a ground speed of 70 knots, you have to descend
356 feet per minute. In the lower row you can see how much time it takes to fly this
section. In the case of 70 knots ground speed, this is 6:46.

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 12

The next table: “Straight-in landing rwy 16R”. First you have to determine which
altimeter setting you’re using. If you’re using the local setting, you’ll look at the upper
table. If you use the Boeing Field altimeter setting, you’ll need the lower table.

This table is split into 2 separate tables. If you look more closely, you’ll see they’re
more or less the same, one of them has a few more cells. First, we’ll look at the left
table. You’ll see “A, B, C” and “D”. These are the categories into which different types
of aircraft are divided. These categories are based on the aircraft approach speed.
Our plane, the Cessna 172, is a category A type aircraft. Next to the categories you’ll
see a cell “Full”. Full means there’s a complete ILS available (Glideslope and
Localizer), and all the different runway lighting systems are functioning correctly. The
number below, 24 (Hundreds of feet!!), is the “RVR” (RVR stands for ‘runway visual
range’). Instead of 2400 feet or 1/2 mile (Statute miles, NOT nautical miles). This is
the horizontal distance from which you should see the runway. (So you’ll look out of
your cockpit window, 2400 feet before the runway you should see it). When we go
back to the table, and look one cell to the right, we see “RAIL (these are the flashing
lights) or ALS (The static white lights) out”. This means, that in the case of a failure of
one of the lighting systems we should look in this column to determine the RVR. On
the far right of the table we can find the decision altitude and the RVR if there’s a
glideslope failure.

The approach
Just like with the VOR approach we’ll start at the IAF. In this case, the NDB RITTS.
As soon as you’ll arrive at RITTS, you’ll fly a so-called ILS backcourse. This means
flying the ILS in the opposite direction. Be aware the ILS now works the opposite
way; if the localizer (vertical needle) moves to the left, you’ll have to fly to the right to
get the needle lined up with the beam. In this phase, you’ll have to execute the
procedure turn within 10 NM, so, turn to the left on a heading of 2940. Fly this
heading for one minute, and steer the aircraft to a new heading of 1140, and as soon
as the localizer starts moving to the center or, the NDB is on a heading of 1590, you
can fly a heading of 1590 and intercept the ILS.

It’s now mandatory to be at an altitude of 3000 feet! You’ll see the glideslope will be
above the center of the gauge, but do not climb! You always intercept an ILS from
below, otherwise your ILS indicator is not reliable (this unreliable reading is caused
by Interference with certain radiosignals). Continue flying level and soon the
glideslope will move down to the center. As soon as this happens, you can start
descending again and try to keep the glideslope centered. (When it’s in the center
you’ll have a descent rate of about 500 feet per minute to keep it there). At the same
time you’ll have to try to keep the localizer centered. In this situation, I assume you’ll
use the local altimeter setting and there’s a complete ILS available. The table now
says you’re allowed to descend to an altitude of 765 feet. As soon as the runway is in
sight, you may continue to descend and land. If you don’t see the runway at 765 feet,
abort the landing and execute the missed approach procedure.

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 13

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 14
 Airways

Airways are just like highways; there are exits, speed limits, and even traffic jams are
possible! Airplanes have to use these airways to keep things clear for the air traffic
controllers. There is currently a lot of discussion about the implementation of a new
ATC system because of the limited airway capacity. The new system will be based on
the Global Positioning System (GPS). Until the system is implemented, we will fly
according to the good old airway system.

Airways are based on beacons. An airway lies between two beacons, VOR or NDB.
An airway can be broken up by other beacons or fixes (A fix is a fictitious point of
reference), because beacons have limited ranges. A piece of an airway between two
points, is called a segment. Sometimes two airways cross each other, this is called
an intersection. For the use of airways, it’s good to have a so called “enroute chart”.

When you look at the figure 11, you’ll see lots of spaghetti. See if you can find airway
G10. G10 is typed in a black arrow. This arrow means the airway is one-way traffic. If
the name of an airway is typed in a black square, (like in the upper left corner, L7)
you’re allowed to fly in both directions. As you’ll see, this segment lies between Eelde
VOR to Spijkerboor VOR (The complete airway lies between Elbe (Near Hamburg,
Germany) and Spijkerboor (Near Amsterdam, the Netherlands).

Just below G10, you

can see “FL 80”. (FL is
short for flightlevel, this
is an altitude given in
hundreds of feet, so FL
80 means 8000 feet).
This altitude is the
minimum altitude you’ll
have to use to fly this
airway. You can find the
maximum permitted
altitude on the table on
the front of the chart.
The bold typed number
right above the arrow is
the distance of the
Figure 11: Low Altitude enroute chart segment.

You can use airways using different methods:

• Using GPS. This system is hardly used for airways, but it’s the most simple
way. The airway is displayed on the screen, and you just fly along it.
• Using the Flight Management Computer. This system is only available on
larger aircraft. If you want to know how to use this system, look in the manual
of the aircraft.

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 15

• Using the VOR1 and VOR2 indicator. You’ll fly from intersection to
intersection. Look at your enroute chart, and start flying over an airway. Do
this, by intercepting a VOR. Now find the first intersection on your chart. Now
enter the frequency of the VOR that crosses the intersection in your VOR2
receiver. As soon as the TDI of the VOR2 moves to the center, you’ve reached
the intersection.

Figure 12: Flying on an airway using the VOR1 and VOR2 indicator

• Using a VOR indicator and DME. On the chart you can see the distance of a
segment. You can enter the frequency of the VOR, and fly straight on till the
DME shows the distance of the complete segment. This method is only
possible when the VOR is equipped with DME.

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 16

 SID & STAR

Wherever you want to fly to, you have to take-off. If you’re at a larger airport, There
are probably a hundred more aircraft that want to do the same thing. This is why a
group of very smart people designed procedures for departing and arriving at
airports. A departure procedure is called a SID, or Standard Instrument Departure.
An arrival procedure is called a STAR, or Standard Terminal Arrival Route. The
STAR procedure starts on an airway, like the exit of a highway. A SID starts on an
airport, and ends on an airway. If you want to use SID and STAR procedures, you’ll
need separate charts. On the next page, I have included a STAR chart for
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, which has ICAO code EHAM.

I will describe the Rekken A arrival, which you can find on page 18. You can find the
name of a STAR on top of the black arrow. As you’ll see, the Rekken A arrival route
starts at the VOR named Rekken. After passing Rekken, you have to follow
Spijkerboor radial 310, towards the fix ARTIP. This is all there is to tell about the
route, however, there are some regulations you have to keep in mind. You can find
the first in the lower right of the chart, “TA 3000”. This is the Transition Altitude (See
wordlist). On the chart, there are several sentences printed, these mainly tell the
maximum speed, e.g. “MAX 250 KIAS within 30 DME SPL”. This means you’re
allowed to fly no more then 250 knots withing 30 NM from SPL.

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 17

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 18
 Wordlist
Above Ground Level Altitude, measured from ground.
AGL See “Above ground level”
Airway Published route which aircraft follow.
ALS See “Approach light system”
Altimeter setting Barometric pressure which is entered
into the Altimeter.
Approach light system The non-flashing white lights at the
start of the runway
CDI See “Course deviation indicator”
Circle to land Procedure when a normal landing is
not possible. This landing is made
using the traffic pattern
Course Deviation Indicator Displays the course of a VOR on an
indicator which has a rotating
compass
DA See “Decision altitude”.
Decision altitude Point on which the runway is has to be
in sight to continue the
approach/landing
Distance measuring equipment Equipment to measure the distance to
a beacon
DME See “Distance measuring equipment”
Enroute chart Chart for use with airways
FAF See “Final approach fix”
Final approach course Final heading to the runway
Final approach fix Point on which the aircraft has to be
fully configured for landing
FL See “Flight level”.
Flight Management Computer System on larger aircraft. The system
operates the autopilot
Flightlevel Altitude in hundreds of feet
FMC See “Flight management computer”
Glideslope The altitude indicator on the ILS
Global positioning system System which can be used to
determine your position using a
minimum of 3 satelites.
GPS See “Global positioning system”.
Holding Route which an aircraft can fly till
there’s landing possibility
IAF See “Initial approach fix”.
ILS See “Instrument landing system”.
Initial approach fix Fix on which an approach starts
Instrument landing system System which allows aircraft to land
with bad visibility
Intersection Point on which two airways cross
each other
LOC See “Localizer”.
Localizer Displays the direction of the runway
Locator outer marker Point on which there’s a combined
locator and outer marker

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 19

LOM See “Locator outer marker”.
MAP See “Missed approach procedure”
MDA See “Minimum descent altitude”
Mean sea level Altitude measured from sealevel
Minimum descent altitude Minimum altitude during final
approach. When the runway is in
sight, it’s allowed to land.
Minimum sector altitude Minimum altitude in a certain sector
Missed approach procedure Procedure which has to be executed if
an approach cannot be completed
MSA See “Minimum sector altitude”.
MSL See “Mean Sea Level”.
NDB See “Non-directional beacon”.
Non-directional beacon Beacon which sends 1 radio
frequency signal in all directions
simultaneously.
Omnibearing selector Rotary button for selecting the VOR
radial on the VOR gauge.
Procedure turn Procedure which allows you to turn
360° and gets you on final approach
RAIL See “Runway alignment indicator
lights”.
Runway alignment indicator lights Flashing lights in front of the runway
Runway visual range Horizontal distance from which you
can see the runway
RVR See “Runway visual range”.
Segment Part of an airway which lies between
two beacons, two fixes, or a beacon
and a fix
Standard rate turn Standard rate at which turns are
made. This depends on the TAS (True
Airspeed). You can get this number by
using the following formula:
10% ×TAS + 7
TA See “Transition Altitude”.
TDI See “Track deviation indicator”.
Timed approach Procedure for executing an approach
based on time
Track deviation indicator Displays the VOR course on an
instrument without rotating compass
Transition Altitude Altitude at which the altimeter is
changed from local altimeter setting to
standard altimeter setting, which is
29.92” or 1013.3 mbar
Very high frequency omnidirectional range Beacon system which sends a signal
in all directions using two signals so
precise location of the signal can be
obtained.
VOR See “Very high frequency
omnidirectional range”.

© Jeroen Blanken 2004 20