Recognising VORs on skyvector

    I just made a short flight courtesy of PilotJourney from Furnace Creek to Inyokern. I like to use Skyvector to work out distances, flIght levels, navigational aids and headings. At first i thought there were no VORs in range (especially as FS2 doesn't register them beyond 60nm or so) but then discovered that China Lake has a TACAN/VOR.

    My question is about how to know this from a glance at the chart. I see none of the usual markings. No mention of the 111.6 frequency. Is there something to indicate a navaid of some kind?

    Tacan only, the distance measuring equipment (DME) element can be accessed by tuning in the published frequency, a VOR receiver cannot decode a tacan only transmission. FS2 might not reflect this, a working VOR would not be authentic. A VOR symbol is a hexagon, a VOR-DME is a hexagon inside a square and a VORTAC symbol has solid black outer edges.

    Yes FS2 recognises it as a VOR Ray but i don't like the Fs2 navigation screens. I'm just wondering why the proper chart doesn't show a VOR symbol. Overloaded thanks for reminding me about the 'world lo' option in skyvector. I generally use 'world vfr'. Do you know why this VOR wouldn't appear on the 'world vfr' map?

    It is not a VOR, it's a TACAN only transmitter intended for military aircraft, the only use to civilian aircraft is as a sort of stand-alone DME, not of much use to light aircraft but an accurate input for an Area Navigation system in larger planes. The DME is much more RNAV dependable than a VOR signal.

    Only a VORTAC is worth showing on civilian charts. Another factor with charts is that VORs are being withdrawn at a high rate and FS2 will feature VORs that are not there anymore.

    If you select the Las Vegas 1:500,000 chart in SkyVector or if you have real charts, the Nav Aid symbols are shown on the edge.

    Quote from Overloaded

    It is not a VOR, it's a TACAN only transmitter intended for military aircraft, the only use to civilian aircraft is as a sort of stand-alone DME, not of much use to light aircraft but an accurate input for an Area Navigation system in larger planes. The DME is much more RNAV dependable than a VOR signal.

    Only a VORTAC is worth showing on civilian charts. Another factor with charts is that VORs are being withdrawn at a high rate and FS2 will feature VORs that are not there anymore.

    If you select the Las Vegas 1:500,000 chart in SkyVector or if you have real charts, the Nav Aid symbols are shown on the edge.

    Thanks. With that circle over it I thought it was a VORTAC, but zooming in I see it is just a TACAN. So FS2 shouldn't have let me use it as a VOR after all.

    I hope FS2 hangs on to the old VORs so I can carry on retro-flying. It feels too easy using GPS.

    There is a NDB on the field so displaying the false VOR on a RMI or a nav display without a (left/right) course deviation indicator would be perfectly authentic.

    The manual navaids in FS2 are quite good now, we just need the ADF needle to dip towards the low wing a bit in a bank and have audio morse code identification (the 737 has a tuning needle!) for it to become a really serious contender. Then there are all the other ways that the NDB gets 'bent' in the real world, night, mountains, wing, coastline, distant beacons on the same frequency, lightning ....

    and shifting winds in the descent .....

    and stratus clouds ....

    Have you looked at the STAR plates Phil? They are as much fun as the approach plates and are especially impressive in the mountains, guiding you on the safe tracks and heights. Happy navigating.