VFR Introduction

Flight Summary

Each of the Learning Flights is structured with a set of high-level objectives that introduce the concepts needed to successfully complete the flight. Throughout each flight, you’ll find the following resources:

These Learning Flights are designed to be living resources that are updated frequently in response to airspace and procedural changes, approach availability, and feedback. As you complete the flights, please don’t be shy! If you find typos, unclear or inaccurate information, broken links, out-of-date procedures, or you just want to share some ideas (like a great video you found online to explain a certain concept), please Contact Us. We're also interested in great freeware or payware scenery you come across.

We hope you enjoy the program, the learning, and the tour of an incredibly scenic area!

To begin, select an aircraft you are familiar with. Because we’re planning for some VFR flying in one of the most scenic areas in the United States, you might opt for a General Aviation aircraft allowing you to fly slower and see the sights. However, make sure you pick something that’s got decent power to it: we’re going to be operating at airports above 6,000 ft. MSL and you’ll be flying in a region with terrain peaks above 11,000 ft.!

When you’re setting up the aircraft, be sure to set your callsign so that automated (or human-provided) ATC identifies you correctly. The way you choose your callsign is determined by the type of flight you plan to perform. Airliners, cargo flights, and private jet operators tend to use their flight numbers while private and general aviation flights use the registration of the aircraft.

Airline callsigns generally follow the same format around the world. However, aircraft registrations change by country. For example, in the United States, aircraft registrations begin with the letter "N" and are followed by:

• Anywhere from one to five numbers (e.g., N24896, N5333, N243, N12, N2).
• Anywhere from one to four numbers, followed by a letter (e.g., N2385P, N829P, N12A, N2A).
• Anywhere from one to three numbers followed by two letters (e.g., N107KR, N70AF, N2AG).

Note that the letters "I" (India) and "O" (Oscar) are not used in these tail numbers to avoid confusion with the numbers 1 (one) and 0 (zero), and the numeric portion of these callsigns cannot begin with zero (for example, N032BC is incorrect).

Some examples of appropriate callsigns, by the type of operation, are provided below. Mouse over each image to see more.

General Aviation (USA)

N5996K

N802EL

N8675U

General Aviation (International)

VHXEF

CGRCG

GOSFB

Passenger Airlines

AAL1253

"American 1253"

DAL15

"Delta 15"

JBU410

"JetBlue 410"

Corporate/Business Aviation

DCM120

"DotCom 120"

EJA684

"ExecJet 684"

N19847

In your simulator, be sure to set your callsign so that automated ATC identifies you correctly.

Given this is a VFR flight, you’ll want to pick a good-weather day or configure your simulator to good weather for VFR flying. Additionally, you’ll want to do the flight with daylight since you’ll be looking outside to help with navigation.

VFR stands for Visual Flight Rules, meaning that pilots must navigate visually when operating under those conditions. Visual navigation requires certain atmospheric visibility and the ability to maintain clearance from clouds. While the specific VFR minima vary by country and airspace type, the atmospheric visibility must generally be greater than 3 NM and pilots must be able to remain 500 feet below, 1,000 feet above, and 2,000 feet laterally from clouds.

A full list of United States VFR weather minima is listed in FAA publications. Note that within certain types of airspace, special VFR clearance may be obtained, which allows pilots to operate VFR even when the weather is below VFR minima.

Finally, choose a good starting point for your flight. At airports with commercial airline service, the terminal building is often a highly secured place. You dump out liquids and take off your shoes each time you enter the “secured” area of the airport to fly commercially. A pilot being able to taxi their Cessna 172 into this highly secured area would somewhat defeat the purpose of the TSA! Instead, General Aviation aircraft—including corporate jets or even airliners if they’re flying sports teams or firefighters—park at other places on the airport.

General Aviation aircraft based on the airport typically have hangars or tie-down locations for parking. Transient aircraft that might be stopping for lunch or overnight will usually park at a Fixed-Base Operator, or FBO. Think of an FBO like a "terminal" for private and charter flights. In most flight simulators, you can select a parking location like “GA PARKING” to avoid spawning at the terminal. If you do spawn at the terminal, re-locate your aircraft to a more appropriate location before you get started. We’ll talk more about using Airport Diagrams and other charts to locate proper parking spots later in this flight.

Since you’ve already done the flight planning legwork, navigating to Yellowstone should be as simple as following the route you plotted on SkyVector. The most challenging part is getting oriented immediately following the departure. You can never really know which runway will be active and what other traffic or ATC instructions may do to your planned initial climb. That’s why the first point to find is the town of Bozeman, which should be easily visible to the south of the airport. Use your heading indicator and your situational awareness from the departure to find it. Then, navigate south until you see US-191 and follow it to the southwest while climbing to your planned cruising altitude.

Depending how high you decide to cruise, you’ll want to start descending a little south of the Montana-Wyoming border. You should aim to be at, or close to, the TPA for KWYS when you reach the northern shore of Hebgen Lake.

Unlike Bozeman, Yellowstone is an untowered airport. That means that, whether or not you are flying with ATC, you are "on your own" to enter the pattern. Like with KBZN, have a look through the airport notes, either on AirNav, in the Chart Supplement, or anywhere else you access airport information. You’ll notice the airport is actually closed October 31 through May 7 because there is no snow removal. Fortunately, this doesn’t affect us in the flight simulation world. (If you want to add the extra bit of realism, if you’re flying between October 31 to May 7, fly a low approach but don’t actually land at KWYS.)

Although KWYS doesn’t have a tower, there are still procedures pilots follow to ensure orderly traffic flow at the airport. If you’re interested in learning more about operations at airports without control towers in the United States, Boston Virtual ARTCC has provided a briefing for Untowered Airports. Or, if you prefer to hear it from an instructor, you can listen to BVA’s recorded seminar on VFR Procedures, which covers both towered and untowered airport operations.

There is one runway at KWYS, numbered 1-19. Landing to the north (on approximately heading 010) would mean you’re landing on Runway 1. To the south (heading 190) would be Runway 19. Determine which side you want to approach from. This will primarily be based on the wind, although traffic, terrain, and other factors might change this decision.

You can obtain the wind for KWYS in several ways:

• You can listen to the automated weather information on frequency 118.10.
• You can fly over or close to the airport, at a safe altitude, and observe the wind socks (one on the east side of Runway 19, and another around midfield on the west side).
• You can call the real-world weather system at 406-646-7727.
• You can get real-world METARs (weather reports) and base your decision on the actual wind.

Remember, you generally want to select the runway with the number closest to where the wind is coming from.

Of course, if you’re going to obtain the weather from a real-world source, you will also want to ensure your simulator is set to real-world weather conditions. For users of Prepar3D or X-Plane, an add-on called ActiveSky helps ensure your weather matches real-world conditions.

As you descend toward Yellowstone, select the runway you wish to use. Because this is an untowered airport, whether or not you are online, it’s your choice which runway to use. If you decide to approach Runway 1, turn a few degrees left to overfly Hebgen Lake. Then, maneuver so you enter the left traffic pattern on a 45 degree downwind. Then, turn base and final as you did in the pattern at KBZN:

Alternatively, if you decide to use Runway 19, descend to the TPA over Hebgen Lake. Since nothing is explicitly published, the TPA for KWYS is 1,000 ft. AGL for single-engine aircraft and 1,500 ft. AGL for multi-engine aircraft. This means you would fly the pattern at 7,600 ft. MSL in a single-engine aircraft or 8,100 ft. MSL in a multi-engine aircraft. Cross the airport at midfield, wings level, then make a left turn to enter the downwind. From there, make two more left turns to base and final until you are aligned with the runway:

From midfield, the approach should be the same as the VFR closed traffic you flew at KBZN. You are welcome to land and taxi off the runway for a quick break or make it a touch-and-go, stop-and-go, or low approach and keep on going!

Departing from Yellowstone is a little easier than the approach. After takeoff, climb to at least 7,300 ft. (300 ft. below pattern altitude) on runway heading. After that, you can start turning toward Jackson Hole and flying the final leg of this Learning Flight.

To get from Yellowstone to Jackson Hole, we’re going to use another technique for visual flying: dead reckoning. In this technique, you draw a straight line between two points to determine the heading. You fly over the starting point, set your heading, and then use a combination of pre-flight math and visual references to ensure you’re tracking it correctly.

Using SkyVector, plot the direct track between KWYS and KJAC. Now, click and drag the line to the west to create a GPS point over Henrys Lake.

You should now have a line from Henrys Lake to Jackson Hole on an approximately 143 heading.

On departure from KWYS, you’ll navigate visually toward Henrys Lake and then, once over the lake, fly heading 143. In no-wind conditions, that heading should bring you directly to KJAC. Along the way, you’ll look at landmarks to make sure you’re tracking correctly. For example, you should cross I-20 right where the power lines cross the highway. Later on, you’ll see the town of Tetonia on your left and Jackson Lake on the right. You’ll likely also see Grand Teton (peak of 13,770 ft.) for most of the flight. Since your route of flight almost crosses it, keeping the aircraft pointed toward the peak will help ensure you’re on course.

If you’re familiar with VOR navigation, you’ll notice the JAC VOR-DME is located on the airport. You could track the VOR-DME to aid in navigation, or just use your GPS to plot a course to use for reference. However, this is a VFR flight: don’t forget to look outside! You’re flying over one of the world’s prettiest areas.

As part of the flight planning process, it’s a good practice to look at the area you’ll be flying over. For example, shortly after departure we’ll be overflying Henrys Lake Airport (U53). It’s an untowered airport so while we don’t have to worry about airspace, there could be other traffic operating in the area. We’ll want to cross the airport well above its TPA to ensure we don’t conflict. A good practice is to cross at least 2,500’ over the airport and to keep an eye out for traffic.

Near the state boundary, you’ll notice the flight takes you into Yellowstone National Park and then Grand Teton National Park, the boundaries of which are denoted with:

The FAA requests pilots maintain at least 2,000 ft. AGL while crossing National Parks and other similar areas, to help protect wildlife. Accordingly, you’ll want to select an altitude that’s at least 2,000 ft. above the ground for this flight. Of course, there is an exception allowing you to descend into KJAC, which is located within a National Park.

You’ll also pass the TARGO (LO) NDB, and you’ll find the Dunoir (DNW) VOR and Jackson (JAC) VOR-DME nearby too. If you’re ever wondering what a symbol means, there is a legend on the side of each sectional chart. To see it, switch from the "World VFR" tab to "Salt Lake City" on SkyVector. If you zoom out far enough, you’ll find the legend on the left side of the chart, which has definitions for the common symbols.

The same authorities who produce charts also provide guides explaining the symbols. Since we’re looking at an FAA chart, you’ll find information in the FAA’s Aeronautical Chart Users' Guide.

Being able to interpret different airspace classifications on a sectional chart is an essential skill for any VFR pilot, especially when flying around busy airspaces. It is also equally important to understand the requirements for entering these airspace types and knowing when you are required to talk to air traffic control. Hover over each of the airspace types below to learn more about airspace classes in the United States:

If you’re flying IFR with ATC, then ATC is generally responsible for ensuring you don’t enter airspace without authorization. However, as a VFR pilot, you are responsible for your own navigation and ensuring you don’t enter airspace you shouldn’t.

When airborne from KWYS, climb to within 300 ft. of the TPA, then turn southwestbound (approximately heading 245) until you see Henrys Lake. The lake will become more visible as you climb. From over the middle of the lake, turn left to a heading of 143. Using a combination of that heading, visual references, Grand Teton, the JAC VOR-DME, and your GPS, navigate to KJAC. You should overfly the point where the powerlines cross I-20 and will be able to see several of the peaks within Yellowstone National Park to your left. You should pass over several small lakes near the Winegar Hole Wilderness Area and might notice the town (and airport) of Driggs on your right as you get set to approach Jackson Hole.

As you approach KJAC, you should be familiar with the notes, runway layout, and other information about the airport. Some of the notes that should catch your eye include:

In fact, this is a very challenging airport; located at more than 6,000 ft. MSL, a 6,300 ft. runway can disappear very quickly behind you. That’s what happened to an American Airlines Boeing 757 attempting to land in Jackson Hole on December 29, 2010, which ran off the end of Runway 19 and came to a stop in deep snow. Fortunately, the occupants were not injured and the aircraft sustained only minor damage. The cause: inadequate pilot training and some unlucky timing in the way the aircraft’s systems interact. You’re probably flying something a little smaller than a Boeing 757 but either way—this airport is not for the feint of heart! (Don’t worry, we have some even more intense approaches coming later in this series.)

Another interesting point you’ll find is:

You’ll often find that small airports—especially those located near cities or wildlife—will publish noise abatement procedures. Sometimes they are voluntary and other times they are mandatory. You’ll find some noise abatement procedures in the front pages of the Chart Supplement if they are published by the FAA. Otherwise, you can often find them on the airport’s website. Scroll down to the section on “Noise Abatement and Monitoring” and you’ll find a link to the airport’s Noise Abatement Procedures. Complying with these procedures is a great practice for those looking to add some realism (and getting into the habit of looking for them is a polite thing to do if you’re a real-world pilot who wants to be a good neighbor!).

As you are considering how to approach the airport and deciding which runway to land on, you should also be thinking about where you’ll park. The last thing you want is to land, exit the runway, and then realize you have no idea where to go! Fortunately, this is a very simple airport and the FBO is denoted on the Airport Diagram (between Taxiways “C” and “D”).

The Jackson Hole Noise Abatement Procedures provide fairly detailed guidance for landing on either runway. Once again, if you are flying offline, the choice of runway and approach is yours. You may elect to use Runway 1, since it’s the preferred arrival runway:

However, if the wind, traffic, or other factors favor Runway 19, there are also instructions for arriving on that runway:

Conduct a normal approach and landing, complying with the noise abatement for the bonus realism.

Once you’ve landed, slow to a safe taxi speed and exit the runway. Remember, it’s never a good idea to stop on the runway; you never know who is behind you. Your landing clearance includes authorization to exit the runway on the first-available taxiway after you reach a safe speed. Find your way to the FBO, set the parking brake, and congratulate yourself on completing this first Learning Flight!

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the scenic views of Flight 1 and have learned a thing or two about VFR flying in the United States. The remainder of the program discusses IFR flying.

Start at KBZN, selecting an appropriate parking spot and ensuring you have good visual, daytime conditions. Then, to complete this first flight:

1. Plan your route between KBZN, KWYS, and KJAC, using pilotage, dead reckoning, or both.
2. Select an appropriate altitude for this eastbound VFR flight.
3. Taxi to an appropriate runway at KBZN and complete two laps of the VFR traffic pattern.
4. Depart KBZN and fly to KWYS.
5. Do a touch-and-go, stop-and-go, or full stop/taxi back at KWYS, then depart the area toward KJAC.
6. Land at KJAC and find the FBO.

Once you’ve parked at KJAC, grab a refreshing beverage...you’ve earned it! While enjoying the scenic views of Learning Flight 1, you’ve just received a complete overview of flight simulator VFR flying in the United States.