Definition
Headings issued by an air traffic controller to a pilot, based on the controller's observation of the aircraft's position on radar, used to guide the aircraft along a specific ground track for traffic separation, sequencing, navigation assistance, or to position the aircraft for an approach.
Plain English
Specific compass headings that ATC tells a pilot to fly. The controller is watching the aircraft on a radar screen and telling the pilot exactly which direction to point the airplane to get it where it needs to go.
Context Anchor
You hear radar vectors on the radio when a controller is guiding you for traffic spacing, around weather, toward an airport, or during a high-workload situation.
Derivation
Vector' comes from the Latin vehere, meaning 'to carry' or 'to convey.' In navigation and math, a vector describes both a direction and a distance. When ATC issues a 'radar vector,' they are using radar to convey a direction for the pilot to fly.
Why Pilots Care
Gives precise guidance when weather, traffic, or airspace requires leaving a published airway or procedure.
Intuition Check
Do not think of radar vectors as a general suggestion or a full route. A radar vector is a specific heading from a controller for you to fly until you are given another instruction or must deviate for safety.
Example Sentence 1
Approach control issued radar vectors around a line of thunderstorms before clearing the flight direct to the destination.
Example Sentence 2
Instead of flying the full arrival procedure, we accepted radar vectors for traffic spacing.