Complete Operating Guide · Desktop · v0.5.6
VOR TRAINER
The desktop screen
The app has two main areas. On the left is the navigation area. On the right are the app's instruments and options.
PROA and aircraft movement
In the instrument area, a left-click on the left half of PROA (heading) turns 1° to the left. A click on its right half turns 1° to the right. Hold the button down and, after a short delay, the heading turns continuously.
On the PROA instrument, a right-click switches between PROA and the airspeed indicator; pressing both mouse buttons together and holding briefly hides or shows the instrument in the panel.
The Mini-Keyboard shows the main commands available right from the start.
Pressing both mouse buttons together over the Main View does something else: it opens or closes the radial entry window, described later.
OBS
The OBS (Omni Bearing Selector) lets you select the course for the active VOR station.
Turn the mouse wheel over the instrument for 1° steps: up increases, down decreases. You can also click its left or right half and hold the button for continuous adjustment.
In the navigation scene, with the Radial Window closed, the mouse wheel also adjusts the course: up increases and down decreases. The adjustment snaps to the next or previous multiple of 5°. With Ctrl held down, it moves in 1° steps only.
While holding the left button on the OBS, rolling the mouse wheel up temporarily speeds up the course change.
A right-click on the OBS instrument moves the dial from the panel to the 3D scene, when available; another right-click returns it to the panel. In the panel, pressing both mouse buttons together and holding briefly hides or shows the instrument. This does not change the selected CURSO (course).
VOR 1, VOR 2 and airplane/circle
The active VOR is the station currently used by the OBS instrument. The label on the instrument shows the current selection. Switching stations is not the same as switching between the 2D and 3D views.
Use Q or the VOR tab of the Radial Window to switch stations, as both also make the selection. On the toggle button on the instrument itself, the number shown is the station you can switch to; the number displayed on the instrument is the current station.
Use Left Ctrl or MARCADOR (marker) to switch the aircraft between the airplane and circle display. Right Ctrl is a different command: it restores the app Preferences after confirmation.
While radials are being changed through the Radial Window, wait for processing to finish before starting other actions.
PROA or airspeed indicator: display and speed
The small control next to the instrument switches between PROA and the airspeed indicator (ASI; KIAS).
On the airspeed indicator, press and drag the mouse pointer anywhere on the scale between 60 and 120 knots to set a new cruise speed. The center of the instrument is not an adjustment area.
Speed cannot be edited during BOOST or while radials are being edited (a blocking operation). The selected display and numerical speed are Preferences saved between sessions.
A normal RESET keeps the cruise speed you selected in this session.
NAV and BOOST
NAV (Autopilot): requests that automatic course tracking be turned on or off. Select the course and bring the aircraft close to the corresponding radial before engaging. NAV is accepted only when capture conditions allow; check the indication on the Mini-Keyboard and the audio alert to confirm that NAV has actually engaged.
With NAV engaged, automatic tracking flies the aircraft and blocks manual turns. Changing the CURSO disengages NAV.
BOOST: triggers a temporary acceleration, then returns to the cruise speed. While the cycle is running, pressing it again does not start another cycle. Your aircraft also receives a temporary pink highlight.
While radials are being edited in the Radial Window (a blocking operation), flight controls are suspended. Finish or close the editing before maneuvering again.
On the desktop, Left Alt toggles NAV and Space starts BOOST when you are not editing a field in the Radial Window. The corresponding buttons on the Mini-Keyboard perform the same actions.
2D/3D Main View and PiP (Picture-in-Picture)
The larger view is the Main View. The smaller view is the PiP. One can be 2D while the other is 3D.
The swap icon next to the views selects which one occupies the Main View. The 3D/2D button in the side panel shows or hides the smaller view; this is not the same as swapping the views.
When available, the four-corners icon enters or exits the app's full-screen mode. Availability depends on your web browser; this command does not change your choice of visible radial lines, the PROA/course instrument display or the PiP.
If your browser does not support 3D, the app indicates that it is unavailable. There is no need to open another VOR TRAINER window.
Outside Radial Window editing, the Tab key hides/shows the PiP window. To swap which of 2D/3D is the main view, use the control described above. While the Radial Window is being edited, Tab moves between its entry fields.
2D/3D radial display lines, Eye and Antenna
- Red: the red radial representing the course, in 2D and 3D.
- Blue: the blue perpendicular line that separates TO and FROM, in 2D and 3D.
- White: all 360 radials, in 2D and 3D.
Each button changes only its color in the indicated view (2D or 3D). The yellow indicator shows that a layer is displayed. Line buttons for a hidden view are unavailable until that view is displayed again (for example, if the window showing the 3D view is hidden, that view's lines will be hidden).
Eye: one press hides all lines; the next returns to the default described above. With the Stations hidden, the white 2D and 3D radials also stay hidden. This happens even if the Eye is activated.
Stations: shows or hides the VOR stations and their associated layers, red and white. The blue lines are independent.
While the antennas are hidden, the white 2D and 3D buttons are unavailable and the white radials cannot be turned on. Red and blue lines can still be adjusted individually. When you display the antennas again, the white lines' on/off settings are respected again.
With no saved visibility preference, the Display Lines panel appears when you hover the mouse over it. If it was saved as hidden, the next session respects that choice. Restoring Preferences returns this panel to its default show-on-hover behavior.
A single click changes any indicated button. To go through several buttons, hold down the primary mouse button and drag across the options. Pressing both mouse buttons together over the panel area shows/hides the panel without clearing your line display choices.
Magnetic variation
The compass rose editor accepts whole values between −37° and +31°. Type the value in the box. For negative values, use the "-" sign. The arrows also adjust the value.
Press both mouse buttons together over the rose to open or close the editor. The arrows and the wheel change the value by 2° per step; with Ctrl held down, by 1°.
Enter confirms a valid value; Esc cancels a pending edit. After the last change, the control also applies the value at the end of its countdown of about 2.5 s. Wait for confirmation before continuing.
While editing is active or being processed, the simulation may pause. The value becomes part of the preferences only once confirmed.
Radial Window and exercise
The Radial Window sets up value entry for practicing turns greater than 90 degrees. Choose the station you want on the VOR tabs (VOR 1 or VOR 2) or with the 'Q' key. Enter Inbound first; then choose Curva (turn).
Values can be randomized. A CURVA that fails validation may be replaced by a random value, with a message and a countdown for accepting the value offered. Wait for this processing to finish; a preview alone does not mean the values have been applied.
Use Enter or press both mouse buttons together to open the Radial Window. Enter opens it already pinned; the pin icon lets you pin/unpin it.
While a radial is being edited, the mouse wheel adjusts the selected field. Outside the boxes, a right-click randomizes Inbound and a (standard) left-click randomizes Curva. Clicking a box only gives it focus for values typed on the keyboard.
Tab moves between fields once the value is complete. Space clears the active field. Enter ends editing; so does Esc, as long as the window is not pinned.
When pinned, the window can be dragged by any non-interactive area of the app. Its new position is temporary only.
Saved preferences and the RESET button
Interface choices are tracked and saved automatically when you exit the app normally. Switching to the background, to another tab or to another application on your operating system is not the same as exiting. Reloading the page does not save data either.
The Desktop and Mobile versions keep separate preferences in the browser's local storage. There is no login and no syncing between devices. People using the same local profile share the last saved state. An "installed" app (Add to Home Screen on your device, i.e. the PWA) may have separate storage, depending on the browser and system.
The following are saved: PROA or airspeed indicator display; the speed set on the airspeed indicator; the active VOR; the 2D or 3D view shown in the Main View; PiP window shown/hidden; the six radial line display buttons; Eye on/off; Antenna on/off; magnetic variation; and the aircraft display style (airplane/circle). These settings depend on confirmation with the OK button in the confirmation window.
The flight in progress, heading, course, aircraft position, Radial Window values, and the Radial Window's position or visibility are not saved.
A power loss or forced shutdown may lose the current session's choices. Clearing or blocking site data, private browsing and incompatible data may cause the app to use the defaults.
Flight RESET: Backspace restarts the flight and the exercise. It does not change the visibility of the PROA/airspeed indicator instrument and does not affect the six line buttons, the Eye, the Antenna, the Main View or the mini window display. Your Preferences are therefore not erased by this RESET.
Restore Preferences: press Right Ctrl or the corresponding key on the Mini-Keyboard. This opens a confirmation prompt.
The OK button restores the defaults and overwrites the Preferences. A screen flash accompanies the restore message.
Desktop defaults: PROA, speed 120 kt, VOR 1, 2D as the Main View, PiP on, variation −24°, aircraft with classic outline, Antenna and Eye on, five lines on (white 2D off).
Help, diagnostics and external links (charts)
F1 works the same way on the physical keyboard and on the Mini-Keyboard.
With Quick Help closed, hover the mouse over an element or instrument in the right-hand side panel. When F1 appears next to the pointer, press F1 to open help for that element. This window is Quick Help (context help), and it appears in the lower-left corner of the screen.
With that window open, press F1 again to open the Full Guide (this one) in another tab, wherever the mouse is. You can also open the guide by clicking 'Full guide here' in the Quick Help window.
To open the Full Guide directly, press F1 with the context help window closed and the mouse away from any panel element.
Context help on its own does not pause the flight. When you leave the simulator tab to read the Full Guide, the simulation is paused and you can resume it.
DIAG (diagnostics) opens environment, performance and simulation status data. It does not change your preferences. Close it with the same button, or with Esc.
The AISWEB link opens a search for Brazilian aeronautical charts in another tab. NAVIGRAPH, FAA, INSIGNIA and any others open the respective external services. These tools and services have no commercial or other relationship of any kind with VOR TRAINER.
When you have finished reading this guide, close this tab or return to the simulator tab to resume the flight.