Very High Frequency (VHF) Omni-Directional Range : Aircraft Navigation System

VOR was developed from earlier Visual Aural Radio (VAR) systems, to provide courses to and from radio stations 360 degrees around the station. Early systems were reliant on vacuum tube transmitters with mechanically rotated antennas in the 1950s, and by the 1960s were the main radio navigation system used. A worldwide network of “air highways” known as Victor airways were created based on linking VORs, enabling aircraft to follow a specific path from station to station by tuning to them on the VOR receiver.

Compared to their predecessors, VOR signals provide greater accuracy and stability. This is because VOR provides a bearing from the station to the aircraft that does not vary with wind or the orientation of the aircraft, and VHF radios are much less vulnerable to diffraction around terrain features and coastline.

VOR stations serve a volume of airspace referred to as a service volume. Some VORs have a relatively small geographic area protected from interference by other stations on the same frequency, while other stations may have protection out to 130 nautical miles or more.
In recent times, space-based GPS systems are increasingly replacing VOR and ground-based systems, as they have a lower transmitter cost per customer and provide distance and altitude data. However, VORs have a very low receiver cost, an extremely broad installed base, and the commonality of its receiver equipment with other avionics will likely extend VOR usage for years to come, and VOR systems are still being made by manufacturers like Honeywell Aerospace.

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