What is QDR or QDS. I haven’t run across those acronyms in 48 years of instrument flying?
I think they are purely UK Royal Air Force (and thus UK PPL training) concepts. I don’t remember QDR and have never heard of QDS. QDM is the only one I recall and it was the magnetic bearing TO (or FROM?) the aerodrome. They are of no real use today.
It’s like QFE which is the altimeter setting to make it read zero at the arodrome, and is a good way to kill yourself of you fly an IAP on QFE and then fly the missed, forget to reload the QNH, and fly another IAP 
They are Q codes originally used in morse code. The UK continues to make use of some. Including QNH for pressure setting.
I always had a pretty easy time with flying on instruments, for me it was procedure and the rules. Had a hard time with that until it clicked. Also, I suppose my brain just locks up when it encounters inefficient ways of doing things, and I have to say IR flying is full of old stuff that, to me, doesn’t make sense.
A very good example is all the holding procedure BS. Why bother with “Hold SW of BIGGE on the 270 radial” and then let you handle the hassle of figuring out what reciprocal you’re on (if you are), which quadrant the turn should be in, To or FROM on the VOR, and what entry procedure. This can all be replaced with “Hold BIGGE 90 degree course”. Done. No ambiguity, same radial. Who gives a crap what quadrant it is in? It can only turn one way and only be in one spot.
I don’t think you get VOR-referenced holds in Europe. All the ones I have had were published holds at intersections, which you just look up (on the approach plane, or the STAR) and fly as per the picture.
I think they are purely UK Royal Air Force (and thus UK PPL training) concepts. I don’t remember QDR and have never heard of QDS. QDM is the only one I recall and it was the magnetic bearing TO (or FROM?) the aerodrome. They are of no real use today.
The Q codes were an international standard. Very few of them are in regular use today.
QDR is one of them – it is included in the EASA IR and CPL syllabi. I don’t think there was a QDS code.
RobertL18C wrote:
There is a certain sniffiness among UK ATOs towards the FAA IR which in my view is totally unfounded. However for the UK the FAA IR route will leave you unprepared for the UK’s predilection towards the NDB, and in particular the NDB Hold. ATC in the UK is a bit different and some examiners pick up on this
I did an NDB hold and an OEI NDB approach on my FAA IR test, although that was around 20 years ago. He gave me the engine failure by switching the fuel off. It was certainly realistic. Nobody ever did that to me in any EASA test, although I have shut engines down in LPCs
QDM = Magnetic bearing To a station (QD Mage, requires Swedish to remember)
QDR = Magnetic bearing From a station (QD Rygg, requires Swedish to remember)
QUJ = True bearing To a station (The odd one)
QTE = True bearing From a station (The “T” in Q T E is NOT “To”)
Funnily enough,
I learned to use the NDB early on in my flying days, and when learning for the IMC rating, always used to keep my mouth shut at the point when an instructor said “you’re not going to like it but we need to do some holds and NDB procedures”.
I’m no wizard and would never claim to be, but it used to put a smile on my face when said instructors would comment that I seemed to pick it up quite well.
Dimme wrote:
QUJ = True bearing To a station (The odd one)
Yes. I can see the use for the other three, but not this one. At least not outside the polar regions.
