VOR

Very High Frequency

Omni-directional Range

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What is it?
• Is the most common ground based navigational aid (help) pilots use during
their training.

• VOR navigation allows you to fly point to point along stablished airways
between VOR’s

• They are valuable sources of position information during cross country

flights, instrument approaches, and if you get lost, they can help you find
your position.
* Because its expansive to maintain the FAA is replacing it by GPS as a
common base navigational aid.

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Help the pilot to navigate from point A to B

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Components:

• Ground stations
• The antenna
• The receiver
• The indicator

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 GROUND
STATION
• Ground stations send
a Omni-directional (all
direction) signal
• The signal produces
360 degree Radial
• Its located in specific
places to provide
guidance information
to pilots

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The antenna, which The receiver, which The indicator, which
receives radio signal processes ground signals provides course
from the ground station and sends course guidance and displays
and relays them to the information to the VOR aircraft location in
VOR receiver indicator relation to the VOR
station

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THE INDICATOR
• Course deviation indicator (CDI):
tells you how many degrees the
aircraft is off the selected
course and direction.
• The TO/FROM indicator: tells you
whether the course you are
flying will take you directly TO
the station or away FROM it
• Omni bearing selector (OBS):
allows you to select the course
you want to fly TO or FROM the
station

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How it works?
• The ground station is aligned with magnetic north, and emits the
signals between the range of 108.0 MHz and 117.95 MHz:

- a 360 degree sweeping signal (variable)

- an Omni directional reference signal (reference signal)

• The aircrafts antenna, usually located on the tail, picks up the

signal and transfers it to the receiver.

• The signals are compared by the aircrafts receiver and interprets

the difference, giving a precise radial position of the aircraft and
displaying it on the indicator

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The VOR’s works with
two signal.

1. Reference signal
(Stays constant)
2. Sweeping signal (move
around the VOR)

Receiver in the plane calculate the

difference between this two signal
and give the azimuth , translating
this information in 360 degrees
From the station (call radials)

*azimuth (direction from the station)

*From (away the station) (out of)

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 TYPES OF VOR
You can find the different
VOR symbols in VFR
charts, IFR charts, SID’s,
STARS, and approaches

- VOR/DME combines course guidance with

distant measuring equipment, so you can
tell how far you are from the station

- A VORTAC is a combined VOR with TACAN

(tactical air navigation, for military). Civil
aircraft uses the portion of TACAN that
provides distance information

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There are three
different volumes:
- terminal (T)
- low (L)
- high (H)

The farther away you are from

a VOR, the higher you need to
fly to get signal reception.
This is why VOR service
volumes have a slope at the
lowest altitude, to account for
terrain and curvature of the
earth.

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ERRORS
LINE OF SIGHT:
Pilots flying low, or over mountainous terrain
may find it difficult to use a VOR successfully.
- Even the slope of earth interferes with VOR
signals
- Mountain can affect the signal reception
CONE OF CONFUSION:
For a brief period of time when flying near or
over a VOR the instrument will show erroneous
indications
REVERSE SENSING
The VOR have two indication (TO and FROM)
when it’s set in the incorrect position will give
wrong indication

AREAS OF AMBIGUITY
There are two areas of ambiguity – near
bearings at right angles to the radial – where the
CDI will give fluctuating indications or the flag
will TO or FROM , or display the 'OFF' flag.

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Navigating
with VOR
The first three steps
above are the same

1. Tune
2. Identify
3. Twist

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 CENTERING THE
CDI
• Once you’ve selected the desired
course with the OBS and the CDI is
centered, you will find the radial that
the plane is located from the VOR.
• If you have TO indication the radial will
be displayed in the bottom of the
Indicator.
• If you have FROM indication the radial
will be displayed in the top of the
Indicator.
• Once you centered the CDI with TO or
FROM indication you will be able to fly
the magnetic heading towards the
station (VOR)

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• If the aircraft is not over the
course, the CDI shows a deviation
of one dot for every 2 degrees
• Think of the circle on the center
as the aircraft and the CDI a the
course you want to be on (if the
course is to the right of the circle,
turn right)
• If you are flying away FROM the
station, and the indicator says TO
you will be flying reverse sensing.
(Blue Aircraft)
*Flying toward a specific radial
correcting by wind its called
TRACKING

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 CROSS RADIALS
Find your location
• It is possible for you to know your
location relative to a VOR station.
• If you have two VOR’s in the
airplane, you’ll need to find two
stations, tune them in and center
the needles with FROM
indication. You will be located at
the point where they intersect
each other
• You can also do it with one VOR
* FROM indication will display the
radial in the top of the indication.
(easy)
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TRACKING A
RADIAL
• Consists on getting to and staying
on a selected course TO or FROM
the VOR, by making proper
adjustments for wind drift.
• If the wind pushes you off the track,
pick a heading to get back on the
course and then split the difference.
• Repeat until you find a heading that
holds the CDI centered.
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INTERCEPTING
A RADIAL

• The most rapid wat to get on to a distant course

would be to fly perpendicular, straight to it at a
90 degree angle.
• We usually want to intercept selected courses at
a shallower angle, because that will cut down
total time to our destination
• 30 or 45 degrees work good, but any angle will
do the trick. Alejandro Patt Carrion
VOR Minimum Operational
Network (MON):
• The FAA is removing selected VORs from service, as flight procedures and
route structure based on VORs are gradually being replaced with
Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) procedures (GPS).
• Will ensure that an aircraft will always be within 100 NM of an airport with
an instrument approach that is not dependent on GPS
• Using the MON will provide nearly continuous VOR signal coverage at
5,000 feet AGL across the country
• During a GNSS disruption, the MON will enable aircraft to navigate
through the affected area or to a safe landing at a MON airport without
reliance on GNSS

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 VOR RECEIVER CHECK
Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Section 91.17
1) provides for certain VOR equipment
accuracy checks prior to flight under instrument
flight rules
FAA has provided pilots with the following means of
checking VOR receiver accuracy:
1. VOT or a radiated test signal from an
appropriately rated radio repair station.
2. Certified airborne check points.
3. Certified check points on the airport surface.
4. If an airborne checkpoint is not available
select an established VOR airway.
The FAA VOR test facility (VOT) transmits a test Accuracy/Tolerances
signal which provides users a convenient means to VOT ± 4° (Should indicate 180 TO or 360 FROM)
determine the operational status and accuracy of a
Ground ± 4° (Should indicate 180 TO or 360 FROM)
VOR receiver while on the ground where a VOT is
located. Airborne ± 6° (within)
Airway ± 6° (within)
*Supplemental chart Dual 4° Difference (against one another)

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Alejandro Patt Carrion