VHF omnidirectional range

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This article is about the radio navigation aid, see VOR for other uses.

D-VOR (Doppler VOR) ground station, co-located with DME.

VOR, short for VHF omnidirectional radio range, is a type of radio navigation system foraircraft. A VOR ground station broadcasts a VHF radio composite signal including the station's identifier, voice (if equipped), and navigation signal. The identifier is morse code. The voice signal is usually station name, in-flight recorded advisories, or live flight service broadcasts. The navigation signal allows the airborne receiving equipment to determine a magnetic bearing from the station to the aircraft (direction from the VOR station in relation to the Earth's magnetic North at the time of installation). VOR stations in areas of magnetic compass unreliability are oriented with respect toTrue North. This line of position is called the "radial" from the VOR. The intersection of two radials from different VOR stations on a chart provides the position of the aircraft.
Contents
[hide]

1 Description

o o o o

1.1 History 1.2 Features 1.3 Operation 1.4 Service Volumes

o o

1.5 VORs, Airways and the Enroute Structure 1.6 Future

2 Technical Specification

o o o o o

2.1 Constants 2.2 Variables 2.3 CVOR 2.4 DVOR 2.5 Accuracy and Reliability

3 Using a VOR

o o

3.1 Testing 3.2 Intercepting VOR Radials

4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Description
History

VOR

VOR-DME

VORTAC

These symbols denote different types of VORs onaeronautical charts.

Developed from earlier Visual-Aural Range (VAR) systems, the VOR was designed to provide 360 courses to and from the station, selectable by the pilot. Early vacuum tube transmitters with mechanically-rotated antennas were widely installed in the 1950s, and began to be replaced with fully solidstate units in the early 1960s. They became the major radio navigation system in the 1960s, when they took over from the older radio beacon and fourcourse (low/medium frequency range) system. Some of the older range stations survived, with the four-course directional features removed, as nondirectional low or medium frequency radiobeacons (NDBs). A worldwide land-based network of "air highways", known in the US as Victor airways (below 18,000 feet) and "jetways" (at and above 18,000 feet), was set up linking VORs. An aircraft can follow a specific path from station to station by tuning the successive stations on the VOR receiver, and then either following the desired course on a Radio Magnetic Indicator, or setting it on a Course Deviation Indicator (CDI, shown below) or a Horizontal Situation Indicator(HSI, a more sophisticated version of the VOR indicator) and keeping a course pointer centered on the display. Presently, due to advances in technology, many airports are replacing VOR and NDB approaches with RNAV (GPS) approach procedures; however, receiver and data update costs[1] are still significant enough that many small general aviation aircraft are not equipped with a GPS certified for primary navigation or approaches.

Features
VORs signals provide considerably greater accuracy and reliability than NDBs due to a combination of factors. VHF radio is less vulnerable to diffraction (course bending) around terrain features and coastlines. Phase encoding suffers less interference from thunderstorms. VOR signals offer a predictable accuracy of 90 meters, 2 sigma at 2 nm from a pair of VOR beacons;[2] as compared to the accuracy of unaugmented Global Positioning System (GPS) which is less than 13 meters,

95%.[2] Repeatable VOR accuracy is 23 meters, 2 sigma. VOR signals originate from fixed ground stations, usually below the aircraft, often at landing facilities. Low incidence angle reflection from ground and clouds above enhances signal strength. Low frequency (30 Hz) suffers less timing distortion by reflection. VOR stations fixed relative to landing facilities are usable for approaches without the trigonometric precalculations Area Navigation database required for GPS. VOR stations rely on "line of sight" because they operate in the VHF bandif the transmitting antenna cannot be seen on a perfectly clear day from the receiving antenna, a useful signal cannot be received. This limits VOR (andDME) range to the horizonor closer if mountains intervene. Although the modern solid state transmitting equipment requires much less maintenance than the older units, an extensive network of stations, needed to provide reasonable coverage along main air routes, is a significant cost in operating current airway systems.

Operation
VORs are assigned radio channels between 108.0 MHz (megahertz) and 117.95 MHz (with 50 kHz spacing); this is in the VHF (very high frequency) range. The first 4 MHz is shared with the ILS band (See Instrument landing system). To leave channels for ILS, in the range 108.0 to 111.95MHz, the 100 kHz digit is always even, so 108.00, 108.05, 108.20, and so on are VOR frequencies but 108.10, 108.15, 108.30, and so on, are reserved for ILS. The VOR encodes azimuth (direction from the station) as the phase relationship of a reference and a variable signal. The omnidirectional signal contains a modulated continuous wave (MCW) 7 wpm Morse code station identifier, and usually contains an amplitude modulated(AM) voice channel. The conventional 30 Hz reference signal is on a 9960 Hz frequency modulated (FM) subcarrier. The variable amplitude modulated (AM) signal is conventionally derived from the lighthouse-like rotation of a directional antenna array 30 times per second. Although older antennas were mechanically rotated, current installations scan electronically to achieve an equivalent result with no moving parts. When the signal is received in the aircraft, the two 30 Hz signals are detected and then compared to determine the phase angle between them. The phase angle by

which the AM signal lags the FM subcarrier signal is equal to the direction from the station to the aircraft, in degrees from local magnetic north, and is called the "radial." This information is then fed to one of four common types of indicators: 1. An Omni-Bearing Indicator (OBI) is the typical light-airplane VOR indicator[3] and is shown in the accompanying illustration. It consists of a knob to rotate an "Omni Bearing Selector" (OBS), and the OBS scale around the outside of the instrument, used to set the desired course. A "course deviation indicator" (CDI) is centered when the aircraft is on the selected course, or gives left/right steering commands to return to the course. An "ambiguity" (TO-FROM) indicator shows whether following the selected course would take the aircraft to, or away from the station. 2. A Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI) is considerably more expensive and complex than a standard VOR indicator, but combines heading information with the navigation display in a much more user-friendly format, approximating a simplified moving map. 3. A Radio Magnetic Indicator (RMI), developed previous to the HSI, features a course arrow superimposed on a rotating card which shows the aircraft's current heading at the top of the dial. The "tail" of the course arrow points at the current radial from the station, and the "head" of the arrow points at the reciprocal (180 degrees different) course to the station. 4. An Area Navigation (RNAV) system is an onboard computer, with display, and up-to-date navigation database. At least two VOR stations, or one VOR/DME station is required, for the computer to plot aircraft position on a moving map, or display course deviation relative to a waypoint (virtual VOR station).

D-VORTAC TGO (TANGO) Germany

In many cases, VOR stations have co-located DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) or military TACAN (TACtical Air Navigation) the latter includes both the DME distance feature and a separate TACAN azimuth feature that provides military pilots data similar to the civilian VOR. A co-located VOR and TACAN beacon is called a VORTAC. A VOR co-located only with DME is called a VOR-DME. A VOR radial with a DME distance allows a one-station position fix. Both VOR-DMEs and TACANs share the same DME system. VORTACs and VOR-DMEs use a standardized scheme of VOR frequency to TACAN/DME channel pairing so that a specific VOR frequency is always paired with a specific co-located TACAN or DME channel. On civilian equipment, the VHF frequency is tuned and the appropriate TACAN/DME channel is automatically selected.

Service Volumes
A VOR station serves a volume of airspace called its Service Volume. Some VORs have a relatively small geographic area protected from interference by other stations on the same frequencycalled "terminal" or T-VORs. Other stations may have protection out to 130 nautical miles (NM) or more. Although it is popularly thought that there is a standard difference in power output between T-VORs and other stations, in fact the stations' power output is set to provide adequate signal strength in the specific site's service volume. In the United States, there are three standard service volumes (SSV): Terminal, Low, and High (Standard Service Volumes do not apply to published Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) routes).[4]

US Standard Service Volumes (excerpted from FAA AIM [5])

SSV Class Designator

Dimensions

T (Terminal)

From 1,000 feet above ground level (AGL) up to and including 12,000 feet AGL at radial distances out to 25 NM.

L (Low Altitude)

From 1,000 feet AGL up to and including 18,000 feet AGL at radial distances out to 40 NM.

H (High Altitude)

From 1,000 feet AGL up to and including 14,500 feet AGL at radial distances out to 40 NM. From 14,500AGL up to and including 60,000 feet at radial distances out to 100 NM. From 18,000 feet AGL up to and including 45,000 feet AGL at radial distances out to 130 NM.

VORs, Airways and the Enroute Structure

The Avenal VORTAC shown on a sectional aeronautical chart. Notice the light blue Victor Airways radiating from the VORTAC. (click to enlarge)

VOR and the older NDB stations were traditionally used as intersections along airways. A typical airway will hop from station to station in straight lines. As you fly in a commercial airliner you will notice that the aircraft flies in straight lines occasionally broken by a turn to a new course. These turns are often made as the aircraft passes over a VOR station or at an intersection in the air defined by one or more VORs. Navigational reference points can also be defined by the point at which two radials from different VOR stations intersect, or by a VOR radial and a DME distance. This is the basic form of RNAV and allows navigation to points located away from VOR stations. As

RNAV systems have become more common, in particular those based upon GPS, more and more airways have been defined by such points, removing the need for some of the expensive ground-based VORs. A recent development is that, in some airspace, the need for such points to be defined with reference to VOR ground stations has been removed. This has led to predictions that VORs will be obsolete within a decade or so. There are three types of VORs: High Altitude, Low Altitude and Terminal. The range of the three differ. Terminal VORs are accurate to 25 NM outward up to 12,000 ft. In many countries there are two separate systems of airway at lower and higher levels: the lowerAirways (known in the US as Victor Airways) and Upper Air Routes (known in the US as Jet routes). Most aircraft equipped for instrument flight (IFR) have at least two VOR receivers. As well as providing a backup to the primary receiver, the second receiver allows the pilot to easily follow a radial toward one VOR station while watching the second receiver to see when a certain radial from another VOR station is crossed, essentially seeing when a particular fix is crossed.

Future

VORTAC located on Upper Table Rock inJackson County, Oregon

It's likely that space-based navigational systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), which have a lower transmitter cost per customer, will eventually replace VOR systems[6] and many other forms of aircraft radio navigation currently in use. Low VOR receiver cost is likely to extend VOR dominance in aircraft, until space receiver cost falls to a comparable level. The VOR signal has the advantage of weather tolerance and static mapping to local terrain. Future satellite navigation systems, such as the European Union Galileo, and GPS augmentation systems are developing techniques to

eventually equal or exceed VOR signals. As of 2008 in the United States, GPS-based approaches outnumber VOR-based approaches but VORequipped IFR aircraft outnumber GPS-equipped IFR aircraft.[citation needed]

Technical Specification
The VOR signal encodes a morse code indentifer, optional voice, and a pair of navigation tones. The radial azimuth is equal to the phase angle between the lagging and leading navigation tone.

Constants
Standard[2] modulation modes, indices, and frequencies

Description Formula

Notes

Min

Nom

Max Units

on i(t) off ident Mi A3 modulation index

0.07

Fi

A1 subcarrier frequency

1020

Hz

a(t) voice Ma A3 modulation index

-1

+1

0.30

navigation

Fn

A0 tone frequency

30

Hz

variable

Mn

A3 modulation index

0.30

reference

Md

A3 modulation index

0.30

Fs

F3 subcarrier frequency

9960

Hz

Fd

F3 subcarrier deviation

480

Hz

Fc channel

A3 carrier frequency

108.00

117.95 MHz

carrier spacing

50

50

kHz

speed of light

299.79

Mm/s

radial azimuth

relative to magnetic north

359

deg

Variables
Symbols

Description

Formula

Notes

center transmitter

time signal left

t+(A,t)

higher frequency revolving transmitter

t-(A,t)

lower frequency revolving transmitter

c(t)

isotropic

signal strength

g(A,t)

anisotropic

e(A,t)

received

CVOR

Conventional VOR red(F3-) green(F3) blue(F3+) black(A3-) gray(A3) white(A3+)

The conventional signal encodes the station identifier, i(t), optional voice a(t), and navigation reference signal in, c(t), the isotropic (i.e. omnidirectional) component. The reference signal is encoded on an F3 subcarrier (color). The navigation variable signal is encoded by mechanically or electrically rotating a directional,

g(A,t), antenna to

produce A3 modulation (grayscale). Receivers (paired color and grayscale trace) in different directions from the station paint a different alignment of F3 and A3 demodulated signal.

DVOR

Doppler VOR red(F3-) green(F3) blue(F3+) black(A3-) gray(A3) white(A3+) USB transmitter offset is exaggerated LSB transmitter is not shown

The doppler signal encodes the station identifier, i(t), optional voice, a(t), and navigation variable signal in, c(t), an isotropic (i.e. omnidirectional) component. The navigation variable signal

is A3 modulated (grayscale). The navigation reference signal is delayed, t+, t-, by electrically revolving a pair of transmitters. The cyclic blue shift, and corresponding red shift, as a transmitter closes on and recedes from the receiver results in F3 modulation (color). The pairing of transmitters offset equally high and low of the isotropic carrier frequency produce the upper and lower sidebands. Closing and receding equally on opposite sides of the same circle around the isotropic transmitter produce F3 subcarrier modulation, g(A,t).

where the revolution radius R 0.3 m . The transmitter acceleration 4

= Fd C / (2 Fn Fc ) is 6.76 2 Fn2 R, 24 KG, makes

mechanical revolution impractical, and halves (gravitational redshift) the frequency change ratio compared to transmitters in free-fall. The mathematics to describe the operation of a DVOR is far more complex than indicated above. The reference to "electronically rotated" is a vast simplification. The primary complication relates to a process that is called "blending".[citation needed] Another complication is that the phase of the upper and lower sideband signals have to be locked to each other. The composite signal is "detected" by the aircraft. The electronic operation of "Detection" effectively shifts the carrier down to 0Hz, folding the signals with frequencies below the Carrier, on top of the frequencies above the carrier. Thus the upper and lower sidebands are summed. If there is a phase shift between these two, then the combination will have a relative amplitude of (1 + cos(phi)). If phi was 180 degrees, then the airplane's receiver would not detect any sub-carrier (signal A3).

"Blending" describes the process by which a sideband signal is switched from one antenna to the next. The switching is not discontinuous. The amplitude of the next antenna rises as the amplitude of the current antenna falls. When one antenna reaches its peak amplitude, the next and previous antennas have zero amplitude. By radiating from two antennas, the effective phase center becomes a point between the two. Thus the phase reference is swept continuously around the ring - not stepped as would be the case with antenna to antenna discontinuous switching. In the electromechanical antenna switching systems employed before solid state antenna switching systems were introduced, the blending was a by-product of the way the motorized switches worked. These switches brushed a coax cable past 50 (or 48) antenna feeds. As the coax moved between two antenna feeds, it would couple signal into both. But blending accentuates another complication of a DVOR. Each antenna in a DVOR uses an omnidirectional antenna. These are usually Alford Loop antennas (See Andrew Alford). Unfortunately, the sideband antennas are very close together, so that approximately 55% of the energy radiated is absorbed by the adjacent antennas. Half of that is re-radiated, and half is sent back along the antenna feeds of the adjacent antennas. The result is an antenna pattern that is no longer omnidirectional. This causes the effective sideband signal to be amplitude modulated at 60Hz as far as the aircraft's receiver is concerned. The phase of this modulation can affect the detected phase of the sub-carrier. This effect is called "coupling". Blending complicates this effect. It does this because when two adjacent antennas radiate a signal, they create a composite antenna.

Imagine two antennas that are separated by their wavelength/3. In the transverse direction the two signals will sum, but in the tangential direction they will cancel. Thus as the signal "moves" from one antenna to the next, the distortion in the antenna pattern will increase and then decrease. The peak distortion occurs at the mid-point. This creates a half-sinusoidal 1500Hz amplitude distortion in the case of a 50 antenna system, (1440Hz in a 48 antenna system). This distortion is itself amplitude modulated with a 60Hz amplitude modulation(also some 30Hz as well). This distortion can add or subtract with the above-mentioned 60Hz distortion depending on the carrier phase. In fact one can add an offset to the carrier phase (relative to the sideband phases) so that the 60Hz components tend to null one another. There is a 30Hz component, though, which has some pernicious effects. DVOR designs use all sorts of mechanisms to try and compensate these effects. The methods chosen are major selling points for each manufacturer, with each extolling the benefits of their technique over their rivals. Note that ICAO Annex 10 limits the worst case amplitude modulation of the sub-carrier to 40%. A DVOR that didn't employ some technique(s) to compensate for coupling and blending effects would not meet this requirement.

Accuracy and Reliability

The predictable accuracy of the VOR system is 1.4. However, test data indicate that 99.94% of the time a VOR system has less than 0.35 of error. Internal monitoring of a VOR station will shut it down, or change-over to a Standby system if the station error exceeds some limit. A Doppler VOR beacon will typically change-over or shutdown when the bearing accuracy exceeds 1.0.[2] National air space authorities may often set tighter limits. For instance, in Australia, a Primary Alarm limit may

be set as low as +/- 0.5 degrees on some Doppler VOR beacons. ARINC 711 10 January 30, 2002 states that receiver accuracy should be within 0.4 degrees with a statistical probability of 95% under various conditions. Any receiver compliant to this standard should meet or exceed these tolerances. All radio navigation beacons are required to monitor their own output. Most have redundant systems, so that the failure of one system will cause automatic change-over to one or more standby systems. The monitoring and redundancy requirements in some Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) can be very high. The general philosophy followed is that no signal is better than a bad signal. VOR beacons monitor themselves by having one or more receiving antennas located away from the beacon. The signals from these antennas are processed to monitor many aspects of the signals. The signals monitored are defined in various US and European standards. The principal standard is European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EuroCAE) Standard ED-52. The five main parameters monitored are the bearing accuracy, the reference and variable signal modulation indices, the signal level, and the presence of notches (caused by individual antenna failures). Note that the signals received by these antennas, in a Doppler VOR beacon, are different from the signals received by an aircraft. This is because the antennas are close to the transmitter and are affected by proximity effects. For example the free space path loss from nearby sideband antennas will be 1.5dB different (at 113 MHz and at a distance of 80 m) from the signals received from the far side sideband antennas. For a distant aircraft there will be

no measurable difference. Similarly the peak rate of phase change seen by a receiver is from the tangential antennas. For the aircraft these tangential paths will be almost parallel, but this is not the case for an antenna near the DVOR. The bearing accuracy specification for all VOR beacons is defined in the International Civil Aviation Organisation Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 10, Volume 1. This document sets the worst case bearing accuracy performance on a Conventional VOR (CVOR) to be +/- 4 degrees. A Doppler VOR (DVOR) is required to be +/- 1 degree. All radio-navigation beacons are checked periodically to ensure that they are performing to the appropriate International and National standards. This includes VOR beacons, Distance Measuring Equipment (DME), Instrument Landing Systems (ILS), and Non-Directional Beacons (NDB). Their performance is measured by aircraft fitted with test equipment. The VOR test procedure is to fly around the beacon in circles at defined distances and altitudes, and also along several radials. These aircraft measure signal strength, the modulation indices of the reference and variable signals, and the bearing error. They will also measure other selected parameters, as requested by local/national airspace authorities. Note that the same procedure is used (often in the same flight test) to check Distance Measuring Equipment (DME). In practice, bearing errors can often exceed those defined in Annex 10, in some directions. This is usually due to terrain effects, buildings near the VOR, or, in the case of a DVOR, some counterpoise effects. Note that Doppler VOR beacons utilise an elevated groundplane that is used to

elevate the effective antenna pattern. It creates a strong lobe at an elevation angle of 30 degrees which complements the zero degree lobe of the antennas themselves. This groundplane is called a counterpoise. A counterpoise though, rarely works exactly as one would hope. For example, the edge of the counterpoise can absorb and re-radiate signals from the antennas, and it may tend to do this differently in some directions than others. National air space authorities will accept these bearing errors when they occur along directions that are not the defined air traffic routes. For example in mountainous areas, the VOR may only provide sufficient signal strength and bearing accuracy along one runway approach path. Doppler VOR beacons are inherently more accurate than Conventional VORs because they are more immune to reflections from hills and buildings. The variable signal in a DVOR is the 30 Hz FM signal; in a CVOR it is the 30 Hz AM signal. If the AM signal from a CVOR beacon bounces off a building or hill, the aircraft will see a phase that appears to be at the phase centre of the main signal and the reflected signal, and this phase centre will move as the beam rotates. In a DVOR beacon, the variable signal, if reflected, will seem to be two FM signals of unequal strengths and different phases. Twice per 30 Hz cycle, the instantaneous deviation of the two signals will be the same, and the phase locked loop will get (briefly) confused. As the two instantaneous deviations drift apart again, the phase locked loop will follow the signal with the greatest strength, which will be the line-of-sight signal. If the phase separation of the two deviations is small, however, the phase locked loop will become less likely to lock on to the true signal for a larger percentage of the 30Hz cycle (this will depend on the bandwidth of the output of the phase comparator in the aircraft). In general, some reflections can cause minor

problems, but these are usually about an order of magnitude less than in a CVOR beacon.

Using a VOR

If a pilot wants to approach the VOR station from due east then the aircraft will have to fly due west to reach the station. The pilot will use the OBS to rotate the compass dial until the number 27 (270 degrees) aligns with the pointer (called the Primary Index) at the top of the dial. When the aircraft intercepts the 90-degree radial (due east of the VOR station) the needle will be centered and the To/From indicator will show "To". Notice that the pilot sets the VOR to indicate the reciprocal; the aircraft will follow the 90-degree radial while the VOR indicates that the course "to" the VOR station is 270 degrees. This is called "proceeding inbound on the 090 radial." The pilot needs only to keep the needle centered to follow the course to the VOR station. If the needle drifts off-center the aircraft would be turned towards the needle until it is centered again. After the aircraft passes over the VOR station the To/From indicator will indicate "From" and the aircraft is then proceeding outbound on the 270 degree radial. The CDI needle may oscillate or go to full scale in the "cone of confusion" directly over the station but will recenter once the aircraft has flown a short distance beyond the station.

In the illustration on the right, notice that the heading ring is set with 360 degrees (North) at the primary index, the needle is centred and the To/From indicator is showing "TO". The VOR is indicating that the aircraft is on the 360 degree course (North) to the VOR station (i.e. the aircraft is South of the VOR station). If the To/From indicator were showing "From" it would mean the aircraft was on the 360 degree radial from the VOR station (i.e. the aircraft is North of the VOR). Note that there is absolutely no indication of what direction the aircraft is flying. The aircraft could be flying due West and this snapshot of the VOR could be the moment when it crossed the 360 degree radial. An interactive VOR simulator can be seen here.

Testing
Before using a VOR indicator for the first time, it can be tested and calibrated at an airport with a VOR test facility, or VOT. A VOT differs from a VOR in that it replaces the variable directional signal with another omnidirectional signal, in a sense transmitting a 360 radial in all directions. The NAV receiver is tuned to the VOT frequency, then the OBS is rotated until the needle is centered. If the indicator reads within four degrees of 000 with the FROM flag visible or 180 with the TO flag visible, it is considered usable for navigation. The FAA requires testing and calibration of a VOR indicator no more than 30 days before any flight under IFR.[7]

Intercepting VOR Radials

Aircraft in NW quadrant with VOR indicator shading heading from 360 to 090 degrees

There are many methods available to determine what heading to fly to intercept a radial from the station or a course to the station. The most common method involves the acronym T-I-T-P-I-T. The acronym stands for Tune Identify - Twist - Parallel - Intercept - Track. Each of these steps are quite important to ensure the airplane is headed where it is being directed. First, tune the desired VOR frequency into the navigation radio, second and most important, Identify the correct VOR station by verifying the morse code heard with the sectional chart. Third, twist the VOR OBS knob to the desired radial (FROM) or course (TO) the station. Fourth, bank the airplane till the heading indicator indicates the radial or course set in the VOR. The fifth step is to fly towards the needle. If the needle is to the left, turn left by 30-45 degrees and vice versa. The last step is once the VOR needle is centered, turn the heading of the airplane back to the radial or course to track down the radial or course flown. If there is wind, a wind correction angle will be necessary to maintain the VOR needle centered. Another method to intercept a VOR radial exists and more closely aligns itself with the operation of an HSI (Horizontal Situation Indicator). The first three steps above are the same; tune, identify and twist. At this point, the VOR needle

should be displaced to either the left or the right. Looking at the VOR indicator, the numbers on the same side as the needle will always be the headings needed to return the needle back to center. The aircraft heading should then be turned to align itself with one of those shaded headings. If done properly, this method will never produce reverse sensing. A good example is this, an airplane is traveling in the northwest quadrant in relation to the VOR. The exact VOR radial the aircraft is on is 315 degrees. After tuning, identifying and twisting the OBS knob to 360 degrees, the needle deflects to the right. The needle shades the numbers between 360 and 090. If the airplane turns to a heading anywhere in this range, the airplane will intercept the radial. How is reverse sensing negated using this method? In the previous exercise, if the airplane was flying a heading of 180 degrees, the needle will still deflect right showing the correct headings to fly but from the pilot's perspective it will seem to indicate a turn westerly. The pilot should turn left even though the needle points right, as it is a shorter turn to a heading of 045 degrees to intercept the radial. Using this method will ensure quick understanding of how an HSI works as the HSI visually shows what we are mentally trying to do.

See also

TACAN Direction finding (DF) Instrument flight rules (IFR) Instrument Landing System (ILS) Non-directional beacon (NDB) Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) Global Positioning System (GPS)

Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) Head-up display (HUD) Airway (aviation) (Victor Airways)

References
1. ^ Airplane Owners and Pilots Association (March 23, 2005). "Inexpensive GPS Databases". AOPA Online. Airplane Owners and Pilots Association. Retrieved December 5, 2009. 2. ^
a b c d

Department of Transportation and

Department of Defense (March 25, 2002). "2001 Federal Radionavigation Systems" (PDF). Retrieved November 27, 2005. 3. ^ CASA. Operational Notes on VHF Omni Range (VOR) 4. 5. ^ FAA Aeronautical Information Manual 1-1-8 (c) ^ Federal Aviation Administration (February 11, 2010). "Aeronautical Information Manual". FAA. Retrieved May 5, 2010. 6. ^ Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Transportation (January 2009). "2008 Federal Radionavigation Plan" (PDF). Retrieved June 10, 2009. 7. ^ Wood, Charles (2008). "VOR Navigation". Retrieved January 9, 2010.

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: VHF omnidirectional range

UK Navigation Aids Gallery & Photos Navigation aid search from airnav.com VOR Navigation Simulator Macromedia Flash 8 Based VOR Navigation Simulator

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VOR Navigation Part I

The VHF Omnidirectional Range navigation system, VOR, was probably the most significant aviation invention other than the jet engine. With it, a pilot can simply, accurately, and without ambiguity navigate from Point A to Point B.

The widespread introduction of VORs began in the early 1950s and 50 years later it remains the primary navigation system in the overwhelming majority of aircraft. If you jumped to this point of the website without proceeding through the earlier sections, I strongly recommend that you return to the Air Navigation section and review the sections on VFR Sectional Charts, IFR enroute low altitude charts, and the basics of plotting a course. Further, you should go to the NDB Approaches/Approach Platessection and read the basics of Instrument Approach Plates, now called Terminal Procedures. The basic principle of operation of the VOR is very simple: the VOR facility transmits two signals at the same time. One signal is constant in all directions, while the other is rotated about the station. The airborne equipment receives both signals, looks (electronically) at the difference between the two signals, and interprets the result as aradial from the station. The GPS, Global Positioning System, is making inroads onto the navigation scene and offers a flexibility unavailable with either NDB or VOR systems. However, it is supplementing these systems, not replacing them. The RMI indicator used in the NDB navigation exercises is as close to a "hands-off" indicator as you will find. In an aircraft the RMI compass card must initially be aligned with the compass before a flight begins and then rechecked every fifteen minutes or so, and that's it. With VOR, however, course information must be manually entered into the indicator. The VOR indicator below shows an aircraft heading toward, "TO," the Omni station. NOTE this very important fact, with more info farther down. The radial signals of a VOR always point away from the station. The indicator below shows 345, but since we are heading toward the VOR, see arrow D, we are actually on the reciprocal radial, or the 165 radial. This aircraft is south of the station. This

will become more clear in a moment.

See the text for details on the four components of the VOR Indicator. The digital indicator is a separate gauge used on the Nav Trainer Panel.

The VOR display has four elements:

A. A Rotating Course Card, calibrated from 0 to 360, which indicates the VOR bearing chosen as the reference to fly TO or FROM. Here, the 345 radial has been set into the display. This VOR gauge also digitally displays the VOR bearing, which simplifies setting the desired navigation track. B. The Omni Bearing Selector, or OBS knob, used to manually rotate the course card. C. The CDI, or Course Deviation Indicator. This needle swings left or right indicating the direction to turn to return to course. When the needle is to the left, turn left and when the needle is to the right, turn right, When centered, the aircraft is on course. Each dot in the arc under the needle represents a 2 deviation from the desired course. This needle is more-frequently called the left-right needle, with the CDI term quickly forgotten after taking the FAA written exams. Here, the pilot is doing well, and is dead-on courseor maybe lazy and with the autopilot activated in the "NAV" mode. D. The TO-FROM indicator. This arrow will point up, or towards the nose of the aircraft, when flying TO the VOR station. The arrow reverses direction, points downward, when flying away FROM the VOR station. A red flag replaces these TO-FROM arrows when the VOR is beyond reception range, has not been properly tuned in, or the VOR receiver is turned off. Similarly, the flag appears if the VOR station itself is inoperative, or down for maintenance. Here, the aircraft is flying TO the station. Radials, Radials, Radials

To grasp the VOR system you must understanding that it is entirely based onradials away from the station.

In the Sandy Point VOR to the left, note first that the arrow on the 0 radial points away from the center of the compass rose. You'll remember that this radial points to the west of true north because of the west magnetic variation. North on a VOR is Magnetic North. So, if you overflew this VOR on the 0 radial, you would be flying away from the VOR. Similarly, note the arrows by the 30, 60, 90 marks and the rest of the way around the compass rose. They all point away from the station. Radials are always away from the station. There is only one line on the chart for each numbered radial for a particular VOR station. Whether you are flying it outbound or inbound, or crossing it, a radial is always in the same place. The only possible complication lies in the reciprocity of the numbers. Whenever you are proceeding outbound, your magnetic course (and heading when there is no wind) will be the same number as the radial. Turn around and fly inbound you must mentally reverse the numbers and physically reverse the OBS setting so that your course is now the reciprocal of the radial. But the radial you are flying on hasn't changed. Some examples will cement this in your mind.

This aircraft is north of the Omni station, flying on the 345 radial away FROM the station. The left-right needle shows the aircraft on course and the FROM flag is present, pointing down, toward the station behind.

This aircraft is south of the Omni station. Its magnetic course is 345. Walk through the steps below to understand the VOR reading. 1. The aircraft isn't on the 345 radial because that radial extends from the Omni to the northwest as shown by the arrow. 2. The aircraft is actually on the reciprocal radial, the radial pointing towards the plane. That reciprocal radial is 165, away from the station like all radials. 3. If the 165 radial were set into the VOR, the FROM flag would properly show, because the aircraft is away from the Omni on that radial. 4. Here is the important point. If the OBS is rotated until the needle centers and the FROM flag shows, it will always show the correct radial from the Omni that the aircraft is on regardless of the aircraft heading. 5. To eliminate the confusion of location relative to an Omni, the magnetic course of the aircraft and the radial setting on the VOR should be the same. 6. Presumably the aircraft is flying in the desired course direction, so its heading will be approximately the same as the VOR setting, i.e., the magnetic course. The heading may differ slightly from the VOR because of the correction needed to correct for wind drift. 7. Thus, with the OBS set to 345 the left-right needle shows the aircraft on course and the TO flag is showing, pointing up, toward the station ahead.

Experiment with this on your FS98 or FS2K to see the effects of the OBS setting on the TO-FROM flag. Select any Omni, position the aircraft to be flying TO it, then rotate the OBS so that its reading centers the needle and the TO flag appears. Next, rotate the OBS to the reciprocal of the course. The needle will again center, but the FROM flag will

appear. A one-line recap: to know whether you are flying TO or FROM an Omni, the OBS setting must be approximately the same as the aircraft heading.
Where am I?

This illustration shows the confusion that can result, yes, that the VOR indicator can actually provide wrong information if the OBS isn't set properly.

Same example as before. The aircraft is south of the Omni, on the 165 radial. It is flying northwest. Observe the DG. The aircraft is heading 345 as desired. But the OBS was improperly set to 165 and the VOR is falsely informing the pilot, with a nicely centered needle, that he/she is flying away FROM the Omni. The aircraft, of course, is flying TO the Omni. Hate to beat a dead horse, but again, the TO-FROM confusion disappears if the aircraft heading and the OBS setting are approximately the same which they weren't here. Pay attention to this and you will stay out of trouble. This sort of error usually happens when the pilot rotates the OBS, watching only for a centered needle, not also paying attention that the setting should approximate the magnetic course, or aircraft heading.
Wandering off course?

This aircraft has drifted to the right of the desired course. To be "on course" the aircraft must be on the red line. Not paying attention to a crosswind (what other kind is there?), or simply letting the heading wander could do it. In any event, the VOR needle has swung to the left, indicating that the aircraft must move to the left to return to course. So a left turn is in order. Like the RMI, with the VOR a pilot always turns towards the needle to return to course, assuming that the OBS setting approximates the aircraft heading.

This aircraft is 4 off course. Each dot of the arc under the needle is a 2 deviation from the desired course. Don't confuse heading, the direction of the aircraft's nose, with course, the desired track along the ground. Only with no wind will heading and course be the same.
"The needle is centered, my flying is perfect"

Nice thought, but not necessarily. The VOR system operates in the VHF frequency band, from 108.0 to 117.95 MHz. Reception of VHF signals is a line-of-sight situation. Nominally, you must be 1000 ft AGL to pick up an Omni within its maximum low-altitude service range. The VOR indicator is smart enough to know when a usable signal has not been received and displays an "OFF" flag, a red and white barberpole striped flag in the gauge in the illustration to the left. So when you are flying to or from an Omni station and you're quite content at how stable the CDI needle has been, it's worth taking another glance at the gauge to see if the OFF flag is staring back at you. The OFF flag also displays if the Nav receiver is tuned to the wrong frequency or, blush, if it's properly tuned but you neglected to turn on the power switch. If you're taking your check ride with an FAA examiner for a real license, that oversight is

likely to get you a quick return to terra firma. And, there's also the possibility of a popped circuit breaker interrupting power to the Nav receiver, a connector jiggled loose, etc.
VOR Range Ah, the oft asked and seldom answered question: how far away can I pick up a reliable signal from the Omni and what altitude need I be at? The FAA neatly skirts the answer by classifying Omnis by an altitude code, with the ranges vs. altitudes as shown in the table below. Reception Range vs. Altitude of VORs

VOR Class

Range nm

within Altitude feet

Terminal (T)

25

1000 12,000

Low Altitude (L)

40

1000 18,000

High Altitude (H)

40 100 130

1000 14,500 14,500 60,000, 18,000 45,000

Data is from the Aeronautical Information Manual, AIM.

These ranges assume, please contain your laughter, that terrain plays no part in VOR ranges of reception. But terrain, of course, can greatly impact the reliable range of an Omni. Consider the Bangor VOR, BGR, at Bangor (Maine) Int'l. Airport. Here are the comments in the Airport/Facility Directory:
"VOR unusable 342063 below 2500 ft."

Pretty significant terrain impact, wouldn't you say? So think of the FAA data in the table as a starting point that may be modified by terrain.
Checking VOR accuracy

The VOR is the most common navigation instrument presently on aircraft panels. We rely on it to accurately track VOR radials, whether flying between Omni stations, or locating intersections, or arriving and departing from airports. We accept at face value that what it displays is accurate. Well, on FS98 and FS2000 it is always accurate. But in the real world, not only can the gauge be wrong, but the FAA requires that a pilot

check the VOR for accuracy within 30 days of an IFR flight. Even if a pilot never flys IFR, it is prudent to regularly check the VOR for accuracy. One acceptable way to formally check VOR accuracy is with a VOR Test Facility, more commonly called a VOT. A VOT is a low-power Omni station located on many of the mid-to-large size airports. A VOT differs from a standard Omni in that it transmits only a single radial, the 360 radial. To calibrate a VOR, the pilot tunes in the VOT frequency while on the ground (in rare instances this check is performed in the air). Refer to the back of the Airport/Facility Directory for frequencies and whether it is a ground check (G) or an airborne check (A). See the Connecticut illustration below.
CONNECTICUT VOR TEST FACILITIES (VOT)

Facility (Arpt Name)

Freq.

Type VOT

Remarks

Bradley Int'l

111.4

Bridgeport (Sikorsky Mem)

109.25

Groton (GrotonNew London)

110.25

Hartford (Hartford Brainard)

108.2

3 nm Radius 1200 5000 ft.

Data is from the Airport/Facility Directory.

Next, rotate the OBS until the to-from needle centers. Read the number from the Omni Bearing Indicator ring or digital display. To be legal, the gauge must be within 4 of either 180 with the TO flag showing or of 0 with the FROM flag showing. Make note in the illustration above that the VOT at Bradley Int'l. airport is on 111.4 MHz. That information is important later while performing one of the VOR approach practice flights.
http://www.navfltsm.addr.com/vor-nav.htm