What's a VOR?
VOR stands for “
The cockpit of a plane contains a dedicated instrument (the VOR-indicator) that shows you which radial (from 1° till 360°) you are following. The signal strength and the location of the station are limiting factor for the range of the signal. Hills and other objects between the VOR station and the plane can influence the accuracy of the signal or shield it. In most cases, the signal range is between 40 and 150 NM.
A VOR station is shown as a hexagon on navigation charts. The photo shows the VOR of Haamstede (HSD) we’re going to pass during our flight.
Using the VOR indicator
The button labelled “OBS” is used to select the radial you want to follow. When you turn this button (by clicking on it), the compass ring will turn around. The indicator will track the radial shown at the top of the triangle.-
The arrow is a visual representation of the radial you selected; the dot in the centre is the position of your plane compared to this radial. The markings on both sides of the centre line give you an indication how far you deviate from the radial. The centre line itself rotates around the triangle on the top.
- The VOR indicator also shows you whether you’re flying towards the station or away from it. This can be seen via the white triangle at the right side of the centre line labelled “TO” and “FR”. This is called the “TO/FROM” indicator.
More info on using a VOR can be found at the following location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHF_omnidirectional_range
Test your navigation skills with the navigation simulator which you can find here: http://www.visi.com/~mim/nav/