What is the primary purpose of a VOR in navigation?

What is the primary purpose of a VOR in navigation?

• A. Provide bearings or courses to a station; helps with navigation.
• B. Provide vertical guidance for landing approaches.
• C. Provide airspeed guidance during cruise.
• D. Provide weather updates for the route.

Answer: (A)

The essential idea is that VOR provides azimuth information to help you navigate. A VOR ground station transmits signals that let your receiver determine your bearing relative to the station. By selecting a desired course, you can fly toward the station or follow an outbound radial, which is the primary method pilots use to navigate along airways or to fix positions. If your system includes DME, you can also get distance to the station, but the VOR itself is all about direction and course guidance. This is not about vertical guidance for approaches (that’s ILS/glideslope), nor about airspeed guidance during cruise, nor weather updates. Those functions come from different systems or services, not the VOR.

The essential idea is that VOR provides azimuth information to help you navigate. A VOR ground station transmits signals that let your receiver determine your bearing relative to the station. By selecting a desired course, you can fly toward the station or follow an outbound radial, which is the primary method pilots use to navigate along airways or to fix positions. If your system includes DME, you can also get distance to the station, but the VOR itself is all about direction and course guidance.

This is not about vertical guidance for approaches (that’s ILS/glideslope), nor about airspeed guidance during cruise, nor weather updates. Those functions come from different systems or services, not the VOR.