Definition
A ground-based radio navigation aid that transmits signals in the very high frequency (VHF) band, allowing a properly equipped aircraft to determine its bearing to or from the station along any of 360 selectable courses, called radials, radiating outward from the station.
Plain English
A radio station on the ground that lets your aircraft work out which direction it is from the station. You pick the line you want to fly along, and the cockpit instrument shows whether you are on it, left of it, or right of it.
Context Anchor
Pilots encounter VOR information on navigation radios and cockpit displays when flying by instruments or using ground-based navigation as a backup to GPS.
Derivation
‘Omnidirectional’ comes from Latin omnis (‘all’) plus ‘directional’ — meaning it sends usable signals in all directions, not just along one path. ‘Range’ here is the older navigation sense of a radio aid that defines bearings (lines), not a measure of distance.
Why Pilots Care
Provides reliable course guidance independent of visual references, forming the backbone of many IFR airways and approach procedures.
Intuition Check
Do not read “range” here as simply “how far it reaches.” In VOR, “range” means a radio navigation aid that provides direction information around the station.
Example Sentence 1
She tuned the VOR, identified it by its Morse code, and intercepted the 270 radial inbound to the station.
Example Sentence 2
With the OBS set to 270, the CDI showed the aircraft was established on the inbound course to the VOR.