PLT322: VOR Navigation
What code PLT322 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study VOR Navigation before your checkride.
Recall navigation - VOR / NAV system
What this means for your checkride
The VOR gives an airplane its bearing to or from a ground station using VHF radio. The pilot selects a course on the omnibearing selector, and the course deviation indicator shows whether the airplane is left, right, or on that course, with a TO or FROM flag for direction.
VOR navigation remains a core skill and a backup to GPS, so the FAA tests setting and reading a VOR course, TO/FROM sense, and identifying the station.
A VOR indication does not depend on aircraft heading; the CDI shows position relative to the selected course regardless of which way the nose points, which is why students misread a reverse-sensing situation.
Where to study it
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.