Understanding navigation
There are two ways of navigation:
- visual navigation (VFR: Visual Flight Rules)
- instrument navigation (IFR: Instrument Flight Rules)
Visual navigation just means looking out of the window and comparing the outside with a map or with what you know about the area.
A very good VFR-tutorial can be found in the FlightGear Manual and (written for the Seneca II) here.
For instrument navigation you can rely completely on your instruments. The view outside is not neccessary at all. Instrument navigation is needed, when you do not have any external references, that you can use for orientation. Just imagine flying through a cloud or at night.
Types of instrument navigation are:
Related Content
"Understanding and using basic navigation concepts is important to fully enjoy flight simulators, too." -- Charles Wood.
A very comprehensive website teaching the concepts and history of navigation by navigational aids (navaids) is Flight Simulator Navigation maintained by Charles Wood.
Another useful document is the Propliner Tutorial which discusses navigational methods from the early pioneering years of aviation until the end of propliner era.
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