I admit that I had paid that much attention to the navigational aide known as a VOR since before I passed the FAA written private pilot exam. So, I wanted another opportunity to observe VOR navigation. The VOR is a ground based radio beacon that pilots use to navigate by referring to an instrument in the cockpit. The VOR transmits its signals in 360 degrees.
I planned for a route flying first to the navigational aide known as the Sparta VOR (SAX) and then proceeding to Westchester County Airport (KHPN). I wanted to show you the route that I plotted, so I went to the FAA website where I downloaded the NY Sectional raster file. the files are very large, so I cropped and saved a smaller image. I then drew the course on the image, adding some labels. The Sparta VOR (navigational aid) is circled. On this route, if the controllers let us into class B airspace, we will only be in class B airspace for a shorter time compared with the alternative of a direct route to KHPN.
I added the distance and true course to the image, but it may be a little hard to read.
KABE to Sparta VOR: 48 nautical miles, 70 degrees.
Sparta VOR to KHPN: 38 nautical miles, 102 degrees.
Nautical miles (or knots) are used in aviation. One nautical mile equals approximately 1.15 miles.
Aeronautical charts take some getting used, but I wanted you to see what one looks like. However, I thought that some of you might want to see the route plotted using more conventional maps. So, I went into Google Earth and using an aeronautical chart overlay, I added a marker for the Sparta VOR. I then deleted this overlay, reverting back to a normal image.
Next up, I'll get to the flight itself and talk about starting out from Lehigh Valley International Airport.
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