Hi all,

Do some VORs not work as they should in MSFS? In particular, Perth VOR (Scotland). I'm getting the ident - PTH, but no DME range.

Cheers

Jon

57 minutes ago, Jon Budworth said:

Hi all,

Do some VORs not work as they should in MSFS? In particular, Perth VOR (Scotland). I'm getting the ident - PTH, but no DME range.

Cheers

Jon

PTH VOR doesn't have a DME in the real world, so you won't get a distance from it.

https://ourairports.com/navaids/PTH/Perth_VOR_GB/

It's rare, but not all VORs are also fitted with DME equipment, so this is actually quite accurately modelled.

Edited January 7, 20251 yr by Tom Wright

Reminds me of similar questions regarding localizer offsets at for example Nice. 

Instead of consulting the charts first people asked, assuming bugs. 😉 

Sorry for late reply guys! 
 

I was just confused as the NORBO 1J SID from GLA has distances shown from PTH.

 

Jon

I've just looked at the chart, after the left turn to ELBAN, it says intercept the 233 radial from PTH, but no DME distances are given from PTH, other distances are given, but DME distances are always prefaced with a "D", for example ELBAN is D5.4 from GOW VOR.

But at ELBAN, it says, amongst other things, D48.1 PTH.

2 hours ago, Jon Budworth said:

But at ELBAN, it says, amongst other things, D48.1 PTH.

What source are you getting the chart from that shows this?

The current Jeppesen chart for the NORBO 1J SID (accessed via Navigraph) only shows a radial from PTH (radial 233) for the ELBAN intersection, but no DME distance (chart 10-3D, dated 22 DEC 23). In contrast, for the GOW and TRN VORs, the chart shows DME distances in addition to the radial.

Edited February 6, 20251 yr by martinboehme

In the RW, some VORs have no DME and some NDBs do.  It's the same in MSFS in the main though I think I can recall a few missing ones from time to time.

In the RW it can be great fun tracking an NDB in a strong crosswind and of course you can simulate it in MSFS as well (no cheating allowed 🙂 )

Thanks guys,

I use Lido charts. DME distance is referenced for PTH in a couple of places on the NORBO 1J SID. A good way round it is just to put PTH in the fix page and get the distance from there.

Jon

 

2 hours ago, Jon Budworth said:

I use Lido charts.

Interesting. When was the chart issued? Maybe it's an old chart, and PTH still had a DME at the time? If it's recent, it may actually be a mistake on the chart...

2 hours ago, Jon Budworth said:

A good way round it is just to put PTH in the fix page and get the distance from there.

You could do that, but there's really no need. You have the GOW VOR tuned up anyway, so just use the 340 radial from GOW to identify ELBAN.

If you decide to use the FIX page, you're using RNAV anyway (i.e. not relying purely on VORs), so you might as well fly the whole SID in LNAV rather than using VOR navigation.

The chart was issued on 28 12 23.

19 hours ago, martinboehme said:

You could do that, but there's really no need. You have the GOW VOR tuned up anyway, so just use the 340 radial from GOW to identify ELBAN.

If you decide to use the FIX page, you're using RNAV anyway (i.e. not relying purely on VORs), so you might as well fly the whole SID in LNAV rather than using VOR navigation.

Good advice, thanks. The reason I’m not doing it in LNAV is because I wanted to practice a raw data departure. 
 

 

1 hour ago, Jon Budworth said:

The chart was issued on 28 12 23.

I've found that chart now. That should be the current date, and I see the "D 48.1". Interesting... I almost wonder if this is an error on the chart.

1 hour ago, Jon Budworth said:

Good advice, thanks. The reason I’m not doing it in LNAV is because I wanted to practice a raw data departure.

Makes sense - I like practicing those too, it's fun!

So if you want to be raw data, I'd suggest identifying ELBAN using the 350 radial from GOW, as discussed.

On 2/6/2025 at 5:09 AM, cianpars said:

In the RW, some VORs have no DME and some NDBs do.  It's the same in MSFS in the main though I think I can recall a few missing ones from time to time.

In the RW it can be great fun tracking an NDB in a strong crosswind and of course you can simulate it in MSFS as well (no cheating allowed 🙂 )

Especially if you are using the BlackSquare Duke with its needles that wander during weak signals. Years ago I flew the A2A B17 on a major cross country trip using only VOR and NDBs with no DME read out. Only using the signal strengths, dead reckoning and pilotage to find my way. Those were great flights. Most NDB had a VOR nearby so I'd use the NDB needle to point in the right direction and the VOR signal strength to determine how close I was getting matching it up with what I had planned for with distance/airspeed/winds aloft.

Edited February 7, 20251 yr by Ident