Plain English Meaning

Small wiggles or jitters in the VOR needle or aircraft heading that show up even when you're flying the radial accurately. A little bit is normal and doesn't mean the equipment is broken.

Full Definition

An allowable VOR signal irregularity that causes the course deviation indicator (CDI) needle or aircraft heading to fluctuate slightly while tracking a VOR radial, even when the aircraft is flown precisely. Under FAA standards, a small amount of course roughness is accepted as a normal characteristic of the VOR signal and is not considered a station malfunction.

Context Anchor

Seen in discussions when deciding whether a VOR indication is stable enough to trust for .