Blog – IFR RNAV 20/01/2024
Today’s session was all about flying on instruments and using RNAV to navigate.
RNAV is “Area navigation”. A method of instrument flight rules navigation that allows an aircraft to choose any course within a network of navigation beacons, rather than navigate directly to and from the beacons. This can conserve flight distance, reduce congestion, and allow flights into airports without beacons”. More info can be read here.
Basically, this means flying from virtual points to other virtual points using instruments.
After a standard take-off, I put on the “foggles” (In aviation training, a view-limiting device simulates instrument meteorological conditions by restricting a pilot’s field of view only to the flight instruments) and started tracking towards my first RNAV point.
Flying RNAV is essentially following a virtual course. The instruments will tell you if you are left or right of course and if you are drifting. Along with this you need to be at the correct height at each waypoint. All sounds easy enough: until you actually fly it!
Even though this was tough, it was immensely enjoyable, trying to work out in my head where I was in relation to the desired track.
After about 45mins of this, my FI told my to remove my foggles. I was fairly close to where I thought I was on the map so not too bad going.
After the exercise we proceeded to runway 28 approach and landed.
What an awesome experience and I added more instrument time to my flight log.
Until next time…..
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Blog – IFR RNAV 20/01/2024