How do you fly a VOR approach in a flight simulator?

To fly a VOR approach in a flight simulator, brief the chart, tune and identify the station, set and intercept the published final course, then descend only at charted fixes. Level at the minimum descent altitude (MDA); continue visually with the required references, or fly the published missed approach at the missed-approach point (MAP).

Within Aviation & Real-World Flying, a conventional VOR approach is a non-precision instrument procedure: the VOR provides lateral guidance, not a glideslope. The chart—not the moving map—defines the route, altitudes, minima and missed approach.

What should you brief before a VOR approach?

A correct VOR approach starts by matching the procedure chart to the simulator's navigation data. Frequencies, fixes and even complete procedures can differ when the chart and simulator represent different navigation-data cycles.

• Procedure title: Determine whether it is runway-specific, circling-only or dependent on DME.
• VOR details: Note the frequency, identifier and whether the station lies before, beyond or beside the airport.
• Final approach course: Record the published course and whether you will be tracking towards or away from the station.
• Entry: Brief the initial approach fix, feeder route, procedure turn, holding pattern or expected radar vector.
• Vertical profile: Mark every minimum altitude, step-down fix, the final approach fix and the MDA.
• MAP: Establish whether it is defined by station passage, DME, a named fix or elapsed time.
• Missed approach: Read the initial climb, turn direction, altitude and holding instructions before descending.

If approach plates, clearances and altitude constraints are unfamiliar, start with our complete IFR flight-simulator workflow. The receiver fundamentals are covered separately in our guide to tuning, identifying and tracking VOR signals.

How do you fly the VOR approach step by step?

The reliable sequence is to configure the receiver on the ground or during low-workload flight, join the published course at a safe altitude, and treat each descent constraint as a hard limit.

1. Confirm the chart and minima. Select the row for the aircraft's approach category and planned straight-in or circling manoeuvre. Set the correct local altimeter pressure before using barometric altitudes.
2. Tune and identify the VOR. Enter the frequency in the appropriate NAV receiver, make it active and listen to or verify the Morse identifier. A displayed station name alone is not a substitute for identifying the signal.
3. Select the correct navigation source. On a glass cockpit, choose VLOC or the equivalent NAV source for raw VOR tracking. A frequent mistake is tuning NAV1 while the CDI and autopilot remain coupled to GPS.
4. Set the published final course. Rotate the OBS or course selector to the charted course, not its reciprocal. Expect a TO indication when tracking towards the station and FROM when tracking away, but use the published geometry rather than guessing from the flag.
5. Fly the published entry. Use the feeder route, initial approach fix or charted procedure turn unless receiving vectors or authorised to omit it. If practising without dependable simulator ATC, start from a published fix rather than inventing a shortcut through lower terrain-clearance altitudes.
6. Intercept and track the course. Use a sensible intercept angle, then make small heading corrections towards the CDI. Once it moves towards the centre, reduce the correction and establish a wind-corrected heading; repeatedly turning towards the needle produces an S-shaped track.
7. Descend at the designated fixes. Cross each fix at or above its published altitude. After the final approach fix, choose a descent rate that reaches MDA before the MAP without forcing a steep dive; for a roughly 3° path, groundspeed multiplied by five gives a useful approximate rate in feet per minute.
8. Level at MDA and identify the MAP. If visual references are not available at MDA, remain level until the MAP. Start any required timer at the charted point, and do not assume that reaching MDA means it is time to go missed.
9. Land or execute the missed approach. Continue below MDA only when the required visual references are present and a normal landing remains possible. Otherwise apply power, establish the published climb and follow the missed routing; if going missed early, do not begin the charted turn before the MAP unless the procedure or ATC directs it.

When can you descend below the VOR approach MDA?

You may descend below MDA only after acquiring the visual references required by the applicable rules and when the aircraft can make a normal, stabilised landing. MDA is a floor, not a decision altitude to be rounded through while waiting for the runway to appear.

A charted visual descent point indicates where a normal descent from MDA should begin. Seeing the runway after passing that point may leave an excessive descent angle; a missed approach is usually the better simulation decision than forcing the landing.

For a lettered VOR approach such as VOR-A, maintain the circling MDA while manoeuvring and keep the runway in sight. Once positioned for a safe descent, use the same runway alignment and stabilised visual landing techniques as on any other visual transition.

Can you use GPS or the autopilot on a VOR approach?

GPS and an autopilot can reduce workload, but they must not hide which signal is actually controlling the aircraft. To practise a conventional VOR approach, display raw VOR data, identify the station and confirm the selected CDI source before engaging lateral guidance.

• GPS flight plan: Loading the approach provides useful fix sequencing and situational awareness, but it may leave the CDI in GPS mode. Real-world rules for RNAV substitution depend on the country, equipment approval and procedure wording.
• Autopilot NAV mode: It can track a live VOR course once correctly armed and intercepted. Capture may fail with the wrong source, a full-scale CDI or an excessive intercept angle.
• APR mode: Use it only where the aircraft's system calls for it; selecting APR cannot create a glideslope on a conventional VOR procedure.
• Advisory vertical guidance: Some GPS units draw a calculated descent path. It can help with a constant descent, but the charted step-down altitudes, MDA and MAP remain controlling.

Unlike localiser and glideslope guidance on an ILS, a VOR signal supplies no approved vertical beam for the descent.

Why is the VOR needle behaving incorrectly?

Most apparent VOR failures come from the wrong CDI source, a reciprocal course setting or normal station-passage behaviour rather than a broken simulator.

For actual flight, the approved chart, aircraft flight manual, operator procedures and instructor guidance take precedence. A home simulator's navaid model, weather and ATC do not establish real-world legal compliance.