I completely agree. I am glad that NDB approaches were emphasized so heavily during my instrument training, yeah it sucked at the time but now I realize that they were doing all of us a favor. Now that they have gone all glass I fear that soon the emphasis on NDB approaches will become a thing of the past, I just hope that they do VOR approaches with an RMI as a close substitute.

Those of you looking to go to the airlines you will be doing NDB approaches, especially if you go to a turboprop operator. Many small rural airports don't have precision approaches since the airport doesn't generate enough revenue to secure federal funding. So many times you may be stuck doing a VOR or NDB approach. Just ask the guys at Big Sky, a friend that went there was telling me that sometimes they circle off of NDB approaches !

 

I usually teach the fixed card method for NDB approaches. Just remember, the head always points TO the station. If you superimpose the ADF needle onto the DG, you will get an idea where the bearing being intercepted is located. If you are being vectored onto the final approach course, superimpose the needle onto the DG. When it points to a bearing that is, say, 10 degrees before your final approach course, start turning to your course. From that point you can make small intercept changes and keep the needle head vertically up (or down if you are flying away from the station).

Hope this helps!

 

Hi!

First, DON'T DO IT! Go to another flight school!

Seriously:
I think this is easier, and it works great for me.

The HEAD of the needle is bigger than the tail, which means it's HEAVIER.

SO, the HEAD ALWAYS FALLS.

If you're going towards the NDB, and the Head is to the left of your heading, it will fall further left, towards the bottom of the gauge.

If you're going away from the NDB and the Head is to the left of your heading/reciprocal (bottom of the RMI, for example), it will fall further to the left, towards the bottom of the gauge.

MS Flt Sim, or some other PC sim, is a FANTASTIC idea!

Good Luck!

cliff
YIP

PS-I've flown at my airline for 5.5 years, and have flown 0 NDBs in the plane-a bunch in the sim. I HAVE done about a million DME Arcs to a VOR or ILS approach in Mexico, however.

 

Well after a night of working with a dry erase board and "chair flying" I think I got it down well enough. We went into the FTDs today and put it to the use. Turned out to work pretty well and I started getting it. Best advice i followed was "Correction equals deflection." After that I was able to really get it, and even nailed a cross wind approach.
The flight training school (61) I came from was pretty cruddy. The instructors were good but the equipment was terrible. Airplanes older than me (and some flight instructors!) with a Localizer needle that BARELY worked. Thats all I really had to go wtih to get my instrument training. Mind you, thats the instrument you would use the most, but still.
I feel much more confident with my NDB approaches. Everyone has told me that when an NDB station goes down, they are not fixing them anymore.
[extreme joke]a couple of the aviation students here want to go out to the nearby NBD antenna here and ::snip snip snip:: and never have to do an NDB approach here again![/joke]
Thanks for the help though everyone!

 

My Instrument Checkout was a nightmare. DME arc's, Holding procedures, unusual attitude recovery, diversions, ONE VOR, one RNAV (circle to land), and one ILS, plus partial panel work. I've never been so intimate with a compass before in my life.

They also wanted us to brief the approach, even in partial panel conditions. Trying to hold altitude, heading, and A/S while referencing the compass, tuning in the radio to receive the weather all the while holding up the approach plate, "This is the VOR 13 Approach into GLS, Frequency is 111.7, final approach course .... oh damn!" and then having to stop while the plane is either nose diving into the ground or your heading is off about 20-30 degrees.

Then you correct it, pick the plate back up to finish the approach briefing, get through to the Missed approach procedures and realize that you just blew through the localizer course because you were busy briefing that exact approach. And then you try to correct, but since your partial panel you have to rely on the compass, and it' bouncing around, telling your everything except what you want to know, and your watching the DME clicking down... down... down.... and the localizer needle is swinging everywhere except where you need it to be.

And then a veins bulging out of your forehead, you look at the flight instructor and he just looks back at you and says, "What? Don't look at me, it's your job to maintain situational awareness."

But it made me one hell of an instrument pilot.

 

Mobius, Thats how my instrument check ride was, but I had to also do a single engine approach since I did mine on a twin. And one thing that was throwing me off a little was briefing the approach since it takes your eyes out of the instruments. but overall it was good.