Definition
The procedure of flying a desired course to or from a VOR (Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range) ground station by keeping the Course Deviation Indicator (CDI) needle centered on a selected radial. The pilot tunes the VOR frequency, identifies the station, selects the desired course on the Omnibearing Selector (OBS), and then makes small heading corrections to keep the needle centered, which means the aircraft is on the chosen course. Wind correction is applied by establishing a heading that offsets drift while the needle remains centered.
Plain English
Following an invisible line in the sky that points to or from a VOR ground station, by adjusting your heading to keep a needle on the instrument centered.
Context Anchor
Seen in radio navigation training, cross-country planning, and instrument flying when a pilot follows a selected VOR course.
Derivation
‘Tracking’ comes from following a track or path. The word ‘track’ originally meant a trail left by something moving across ground. In aviation, the track is the actual path of the aircraft over the ground, and ‘tracking’ means flying that path deliberately along a chosen radial.
Why Pilots Care
Enables reliable navigation along established airways and to airports when GPS is unavailable or unreliable.
Intuition Check
Tracking with VOR does not mean simply aiming the airplane at the VOR station. It means correcting for wind and position so the airplane stays on the selected course line.
Example Sentence 1
After departure, she began tracking the 090 radial outbound from the VOR to stay on the published route.
Example Sentence 2
While flying the airway the pilot monitored the CDI needle and adjusted heading to keep tracking with VOR accurately.