I keep encountering VOR’s that are shown in FS2024, they’re on the map. Details show their frequency but they don’t seem to register in my aircraft’s VOR radios.
For example, fly from Innsbruck to Vienna I’d like to use a VOR at GAISBERG, GSB, 109.45. The aircraft’s directional needles do not respond. My altitude is 6000ft.
Am I just too low?
Just a few miles to the North is the Salzburg VOR, SBG, 113.8 and my VOR needles react and I can locate this VOR and use its radials to continue on to Vienna (Wien).
There are so many examples of this, VOR’s that are in the scenery but don’t seem to help at all. FS2024 appears to recognize that I’m tuned to GAISBERG, there’s an indication in the upper left of my screen that says ‘LOC1’. That would disappear if I detuned the VOR so it is being sensed. I just don’t get any benefit from it!
Anybody else experience this? Any suggestions?
BTW, I’m on Xbox.
pete in california
A couple things that could be happening:
- You are outside the published service volume for that VOR. Note that the sim sticks to those service volumes like glue, with the signal cutting to zero outside of that range. However; in the real world they’re often useable outside of that volume, either on published courses and procedures, or off. However, the latter is not legal for sole use in instrument navigation and is considered at your own risk.
- Many VORs are being decommissioned and removed. In the US, some will remain as part of the minimal operational network (MON). These are updated with the navdata updates every so often. However, I’m not sure if the in-sim maps update along with that. And DME-only stations (a relatively new concept) are often being added. I don’t know if the sim maps, a carryover from the old days, takes those into account.
Hi @petenoak
A few things (and some are contradictory so hang on for the ride!).
GSB is a DME-only navaid. On the world map, you can see that by the symbol. click on the circled “I” to get the legend displayed.
If you open the EFB tab on the WM, you can search for GSB (there’s a couple of them in the world) and select the one you want. You’ll see that it shows a TACAN symbol, but states it’s a DME.
While a TACAN will provide DME information, the symbol is wrong on either the WM or the EFB. Not a huge deal, but should be consistently applied.
If your system is showing “LOC”, then the navaid is a localizer and not a VOR. Localizers are used for lateral guidance when landing at an airport, not for enroute guidance. In reality, you should only be able to pick their signal up in a relatively short distance (compared to most VOR’s), and only within limited lateral distances. But they don’t provide radials to navigate to like a VOR. Generally, the easiest way to tell they’re a localizer, is on the WM, they’ll be at the ends of runways with land-based instrument approaches (e.g. ILS, LOC-only).
Hope this info helps you sort out the various and sometimes confusing navaid information you’ll see on the WM and on your flight instruments.
Regards
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Thank you, Habu2u2, for your clear and informative reply.
I see know that within fs2024 there was no obvious distinction between these two navaids, SBG and GSB.
But I should have had a hint from skyvector.com where the two are definitely different!
BTW, this came up for me because I am doing a kind of ‘vintage’ flying these days with the different liveries of the Dash 7 I have in fs2024.
I looked up Tyrolean Airways and thought I could try to recreate a possible route for the Dash 7’s service between Innsbruck and Vienna, BEFORE GPS came into usage.
thanks again
pete
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There are a fair number of people that enjoy “flying like the old days” (like I had to do many, many years ago!), and it’s still very possible in the sim. But as I’m sure you’ve noticed, many of the planes/systems are more oriented to flying routes in a more modern way.
Periodically, I’ll set up a route for my TBM930 solely based on VOR/ADF facilities and enjoy flying that way. But it requires more preflight route planning, and gets frustrating sometimes, although rewarding!
If you ever want to fly some “older-oriented” routes in the U.S., I’d recommend this thread:
The originator of the thread has developed a very good system that replicates the navigation environment of the early 1950’s.
Regards
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This is good stuff. The big caution to the uninitiated is that while historical navdata works pretty well in the enroute environment, it can leave you hanging in the terminal environment as many airport configurations have changed drastically since the 50’s. Without commensurate historic airport scenery (some of which does exist), there’s going to be a disconnect.
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Thanks SO much for this. I will definitely dig some routes out of this.
This is what inspired me to plan the Innsbruck to Vienna (Wien) route, a celebration of the last Tyrolean/Austrian Airways turboprop flight on that route.
pete
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