VOR Navigation: How to Track Radials Without Getting Lost

Your instructor covers the GPS mid-flight and says, "Track the radial." If that makes you sweat, this one's for you. Most of us learned to fly with ForeFlight on our knee, so the VOR became the gauge we tolerate. Then it shows up on the checkride, and it comes back hard in instrument training. This episode breaks down what that needle is actually telling you, why reverse sensing makes it feel like it's lying, and the one habit that fixes it. In This Episode: The day my CFI covered the GPS in a no-AC Cessna 150 and made me track a radial Why the CDI needle is a course pointer, not a steering wheel Reverse sensing and the reciprocal-OBS trap that flips everything TIM (Tune, Identify, Monitor) so you never track a dead or wrong station• Why VOR is still on your checkride, and why instrument training runs on it Key Takeaways: Don't chase the needle. Fly the heading, then trim with the needle Set the course you want to fly into the OBS, not the radial you're sitting on, and check the TO/FROM flag Run TIM every time: Tune, Identify the Morse, Monitor the flags. No ident, no using it Practice with your own GPS covered, so it's a habit before an examiner does it for you Resources: Private Pilot Made Easy. Ground School (Pilot Institute) Your Flight Controls is produced in association with Pilot Institute. New episodes drop weekly. Got a question or a topic you want us to cover? Leave a comment!