IFR Checkride Guide
Chair flying / Intercepting and Tracking a Course

Intercepting and Tracking a Course

Intercept a VOR radial or GPS course at a proper angle and hold it with bracketing wind correction — the core skill under every procedure.

Chair fly itACS V.A — Intercepting and Tracking Navigational Systems and DME Arcs

Setup

  1. Tune and IDENTIFY the facility (or verify the GPS leg)
  2. Twist the course; determine position — which side, TO or FROM“Tune, identify, twist”
  3. Choose the intercept angle — 30–45° en route, shallower close-in
    Angle of intercept scales with distance to the course and groundspeed; a 90° intercept only when crossing to reverse.

Execution

  1. Turn to the intercept heading; hold 100 KIAS
  2. Needle alive — lead the turn onto course“Needle alive”
    The faster the needle moves, the earlier the lead. Full deflection to centered typically needs a lead of 5–10° of heading.
  3. Bracket the wind: hold a correction, watch the drift, halve the bracket each pass
    Start with a reference crab (e.g. 10°). Needle drifts upwind — take half out. Drifts downwind — double it. Converge on the wind correction angle that pins the needle.
  4. Track within ¾-scale CDI; headings ±5°, altitude ±100 ft, airspeed ±10 kt

Recovery

  1. Station passage (TO/FROM flip) or waypoint sequence — re-twist for the outbound course
  2. Re-establish the bracket outbound

ACS tolerances

  • Course within ¾-scale CDI deflection
  • Headings ±5°
  • Altitude ±100 ft
  • Airspeed ±10 kt

Common errors

  • Chasing the needle with heading swings instead of bracketing
  • No lead on the intercept turn — flying through the course
  • Forgetting to re-twist after station passage
  • Reverse sensing from tracking with the wrong course set