Definition
A ground-based radio navigation aid that transmits a signal in the very high frequency band (108.0–117.95 MHz), allowing a properly equipped aircraft to determine its bearing to or from the station along any of 360 selectable courses, called radials. The aircraft's VOR receiver compares two signals broadcast by the station and displays the aircraft's position relative to a pilot-selected radial on a course deviation indicator (CDI).
Plain English
A radio beacon on the ground that lets a pilot fly along a chosen line in any direction outward from the station. The cockpit instrument shows whether the aircraft is on that line, to the left of it, or to the right of it.
Context Anchor
Seen during preflight when checking navigation equipment, on aviation charts, and in the cockpit when using the navigation receiver.
Derivation
VHF refers to the Very High Frequency radio band the station uses. 'Omnidirectional' comes from the Latin omnis (all) and directio (direction) — meaning the station radiates usable signals in every direction. 'Range' here is the older aviation term for a radio navigation station, carried over from the earlier four-course low-frequency 'radio ranges' that VOR replaced in the 1950s.
Why Pilots Care
VOR provides reliable directional guidance for enroute navigation and instrument approaches when visual references are limited.
Grounding Statement
Picture a radio station on the ground sending a navigation signal outward in every direction, and the airplane’s receiver using that signal to show where the airplane is in relation to the station.
Intuition Check
Do not read “range” here as distance. A VOR mainly gives direction information; distance from the station requires separate distance-measuring equipment or another method.
Example Sentence 1
After takeoff, the pilot tuned the VOR to 113.5, identified the Morse code, and tracked outbound on the 270 radial.
Example Sentence 2
Once airborne, the aircraft tracked the 180 radial outbound from the VOR to join the airway.