ADF tracking
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shamrock104
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ADF tracking
Anyone got any good tips about teaching ADF tracking to IFR students. I am trying to put a basic program together and keep it as simple as possible. Thanks in advance.
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LinksInAChain
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Once I learned this method it was all I ever taught...
For an RMI
Inbound: "Course, Head, Cut"
Find the course you WANT to intercept on the face of the RMI, then trace the outside of the glass to find the Head of the needle, and between the needle head and 90 degrees (that's 90-degrees from the desired course and in the same direction as your eyes moved from Course to Head) lies the arc of headings that can be used to intercept.
Outbound: "Tail, Course, Cut"
Find the tail of the needle, then move your eyes (or index finger) to the Course you want to intercept, and somewhere between the Course and the 90 degree mark from the Tail is your intercept angle.
Those two phrases will work for interception and continue to work for course correction enroute.
Get them to walk the halls muttering the phrases - it's always interesting to listen to for the first few minutes! FYI: You may want to break it into two sessions if they're inexperienced with ADF in general. I also always made one leg of the IFR X/C an ADF-only-leading-to-a-non-precision-or-circling-approach leg.
Always fun to watch them do the mental juggling figuring it out, and MUCH better to teach on a sim.
Of course, I needn't mention the importance of a solid knowledge base with regard to ADF errors and some heavy-duty TKT before each lesson, need I? lol - thought not!
Cheers!
Links
For an RMI
Inbound: "Course, Head, Cut"
Find the course you WANT to intercept on the face of the RMI, then trace the outside of the glass to find the Head of the needle, and between the needle head and 90 degrees (that's 90-degrees from the desired course and in the same direction as your eyes moved from Course to Head) lies the arc of headings that can be used to intercept.
Outbound: "Tail, Course, Cut"
Find the tail of the needle, then move your eyes (or index finger) to the Course you want to intercept, and somewhere between the Course and the 90 degree mark from the Tail is your intercept angle.
Those two phrases will work for interception and continue to work for course correction enroute.
Get them to walk the halls muttering the phrases - it's always interesting to listen to for the first few minutes! FYI: You may want to break it into two sessions if they're inexperienced with ADF in general. I also always made one leg of the IFR X/C an ADF-only-leading-to-a-non-precision-or-circling-approach leg.
Always fun to watch them do the mental juggling figuring it out, and MUCH better to teach on a sim.
Of course, I needn't mention the importance of a solid knowledge base with regard to ADF errors and some heavy-duty TKT before each lesson, need I? lol - thought not!
Cheers!
Links
If it floats, flies, or giggles in bed - it's cheaper to rent then to own.
For IFR, The simpler, the better.
If you have an HSI,
Compare the ADF/RMI needle to your HSI track.
if the needle is pointing left of the track, you turn left.
if the needle is pointing rightof the track, you turn right.
It doesn't matter if you're tracking from or to the station, always look at the head of the ADF needle.
On inbound, you will need to turn enough to intercept, so that the needle will go the other side. and it will fall down on the other side. Once the HSI track and ADF needle is parallel to each other, you're on track.
If you have an HSI,
Compare the ADF/RMI needle to your HSI track.
if the needle is pointing left of the track, you turn left.
if the needle is pointing rightof the track, you turn right.
It doesn't matter if you're tracking from or to the station, always look at the head of the ADF needle.
On inbound, you will need to turn enough to intercept, so that the needle will go the other side. and it will fall down on the other side. Once the HSI track and ADF needle is parallel to each other, you're on track.
In case you didn't know about this neat little program: Tim's air nav sim.
http://www.visi.com/~mim/nav/
Goodbye,
Louis
http://www.visi.com/~mim/nav/
Goodbye,
Louis
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youngflier
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shamrock104
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ADF tracking
Figure it out for themselves, now theres a thought.
Thanks though for all the other constructive answers.
Thanks though for all the other constructive answers.
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happily.retired
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Ya, I let one try to figure it out himself since he had read about it (about 45 hrs into his ppl) and thought he had it all figured out. Not something I would usually do he had some invinsibility issues.
He was off by 180 degrees in a mountainous region when I got him to take of the hood. So ya, let 'em figure it out is a GREAT plan.
He was off by 180 degrees in a mountainous region when I got him to take of the hood. So ya, let 'em figure it out is a GREAT plan.
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just curious
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Over the Horn
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ADFs are something different people come to understand via different paths. Some people get it right after you teach them the formula, others after you run a few examples. The key is to try a variety of explanations and exercises until you find one that works for them.
Here's a trick that has worked in the past. Take a map, (or a blank piece of paper with a dot on it for the NDB), take a model airplane and place it on the map, now hold a pen over top of the model and point said pen at the NDB (the pen is the needle in the cockpit). Have the student figure out what the RB would be, (ie, 30 deg right of nose, 45 left of tail etc...). Move the model and pen to different positions on the map and repeat (make sure you change the a/c's heading). This helps the student relate the needle to the a/c's position. Do this exercise for all stages of an ADF intercept, (figuring out the a/c's position, recognizing interception, tracking with a crab, inbound and outbound). If you don't have a model airplane just use another pen to represent the a/c.
Another good trick is to put the student in the sim, have them tune in an NDB and then freeze the sim. Have the student work out the a/c's position relative to the beacon and determine an intercept heading. Once they have done this use the 'hand of God' function on the sim and change the a/c's position and heading, have the student repeat the exercise.
Here's a trick that has worked in the past. Take a map, (or a blank piece of paper with a dot on it for the NDB), take a model airplane and place it on the map, now hold a pen over top of the model and point said pen at the NDB (the pen is the needle in the cockpit). Have the student figure out what the RB would be, (ie, 30 deg right of nose, 45 left of tail etc...). Move the model and pen to different positions on the map and repeat (make sure you change the a/c's heading). This helps the student relate the needle to the a/c's position. Do this exercise for all stages of an ADF intercept, (figuring out the a/c's position, recognizing interception, tracking with a crab, inbound and outbound). If you don't have a model airplane just use another pen to represent the a/c.
Another good trick is to put the student in the sim, have them tune in an NDB and then freeze the sim. Have the student work out the a/c's position relative to the beacon and determine an intercept heading. Once they have done this use the 'hand of God' function on the sim and change the a/c's position and heading, have the student repeat the exercise.
