VOR/ADF Navigation

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Hedgehog
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VOR/ADF Navigation

Post by Hedgehog » Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:42 am

We normally find our way to airfields with TACAN. However, many airfields don't have TACAN beacons.

Nearly all airfields have VOR (VHF Omni-directional Range) beacons, which is what civilian and commercial aircraft use for navigation. The F/A-18C does not have VOR instrumentation.

What the F/A-18C does have is ADF (Automatic Direction Finder). It will show you the direction to any radio beacon that can be tuned in with your COM1 or COM2 radio. It does not provide range information, but in a divert situation, it can help you find a field.

Make sure you know how to engage ADF to find a VOR beacon. You can get a divert field's VOR beacon frequency from the F10 map or from the kneeboard. You can practice at the Training Range.

Text: https://wiki.hoggitworld.com/view/F/A-18C#ADF

Video: https://youtu.be/SaccwG9n7Zc

Notes:

When you select ADF for either COM1 or COM2, it automatically un-squelches the radio to better be able to pick up weak/distant signals. If you want to use that radio for comms again, you will want to re-squelch it to eliminate the background static.
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