Definition
A low-altitude federal airway in the contiguous United States, defined by VOR navigation aids, extending from 1,200 feet above ground level up to but not including 18,000 feet MSL. Victor airways are 8 nautical miles wide (4 NM either side of centerline) and are designated by the letter V followed by a number, such as V23.
Plain English
A pre-defined highway in the sky for lower altitudes, marked on charts as a line between two ground-based navigation stations. Pilots fly along it by tuning in those stations.
Context Anchor
You will see Victor airways on low-altitude IFR en route charts and in IFR clearances, such as when ATC clears an aircraft to fly along V12.
Derivation
The 'V' in the airway label stands for 'Victor,' the phonetic alphabet word for the letter V. The letter V was chosen because these airways are based on VOR navigation. So a Victor airway is, plainly, a 'V-airway' — a VOR-based airway.
Why Pilots Care
They give pilots and controllers a predictable, charted network for navigation and routing below 18,000 feet.
Intuition Check
Do not think of a Victor airway as a physical road or tunnel in the sky. It is a published navigation route shown on charts and used for IFR routing.
Example Sentence 1
Example Sentence 2
On the low-altitude chart the pilot traced Victor 187 from the departure airport toward the destination.