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FAA Plans Major Reduction in VOR Coverage

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The FAA recently released a proposed rule for a gradual but major reduction in the VOR navigation system in the United States. The proposal transitions navigation services to performance-based navigation (PBN) such as GPS and WAAS, and would keep only VORs at what the FAA calls the “Core 30” airports around the country and VORs located above 5,000 feet. (www.flyingmag.com) More...

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Beech22E
Beech22E 1
How about navigating below radar coverage. GPS is not authorized. ref: 7110.65 4-4-2 and AIM 1-1-19 d. and 5-3-4 3.(b). I know many ATC facilities do this and they are wrong. The reqs have not kept up with technology. The RNAV 23 into ANB is almost impossible.
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WALLACE24
WALLACE24 0
Are those antennas really still up? I figured even boats used gps nowadays.
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preacher1
preacher1 0
Personal opinion. Everybody needs GPS if they don't have it. Light Squared is a problem and needs to be looked at strongly before this is undertaken but the VOR system is like a lot of other things; there is something better and it has probably outlived its usefulness. Time to move on.
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canuck44
canuck44 0
Keep an eye on the T-Mobile spectrum...the AT&T merger was denied and T-Mobile (owned by the Germans) is still on the market and not likely to survive in its current format...LightSquared is one of the suggested purchasers which although a sleazy deal for AT&T users would be good for GPS users.
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capnvic
vic holtzinger 0
why get rid of something that works?even if gps is so great,when it fails(and it will)it sure would be comforting to have that "old" radio signal to guide you.
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RichardConn
Richard Conn 0
I agree, after 60 years or more, its time to move on to better navigation methods.
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flyingcookmosnter
flyingcookmosnter 0
Well shucks, time to bust LORAN out again :)
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preacher1
preacher1 0
Be Careful; you'll tell your age.lol
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canuck44
canuck44 0
LOL...I still have a non-bubble sextant...
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flutepilot
Daniel Colburn 0
My major gripe with GPS is the utter confusion in interface. If you get into an aircraft with a VOR you can use it. Immediately. With no additional training. Many, if not most of the TSO's GPS units virtually require a college course in order to use all the features, including doing instrument approaches. This must be attended to before phasing out a system that everybody can easily use.
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bishops90
Brian Bishop 0
Well, just my 2 cents worth on GPS. I have a free GPS Android App on my phone that is so darn accurate it's incredible. The only thing that's not quite up to speed on it is the altitude given, but it's not an avaiatin app anyway. I still know (and sometimes prefer) to read a map / Sectional, but DANG, GPS is the ticket if you need to know where you are!
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earendil
earendil 0
Due to satellite geometry, the worst DOP is always on your vertical channel (that's why it's a challenge to ensure the integrity level for LPV approach).
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cessna210g
cessna210g 0
I was told a long time ago not to rely on one means of navigation. What happens if GPS craps out or the DOD makes the GPS less accurate. I guess you would be SOL.
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conmanflyer
conmanflyer 0
... or you start reading a sectional...
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DVA7130
Ryan Morse 0
What are you going to do with a sectional without VOR's?
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jsims593
Josh Sims 0
Old fashioned pilotage.
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earendil
earendil 0
That's why we have WAAS to enhance GPS integrity. Regarding DOD making GPS less accurate, looking at the trend how things are going with the GPS technology (especially with L5 going alive in 2015), things are just going to get better. Military has their own P(Y) and M-code to keep them "happy".

Nevertheless I think it's true that we need APNT very soon. We start to depend too heavily on GPS, and it's never too good to rely only on single means of navigation. But looking at how things are going (increasing traffic volume and how addictive GPS's accuracy can be), I think this is the way to go.
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DVA7130
Ryan Morse 0
What are going to be able to do with a sectional without VOR's?
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onceastudentpilot
tim mitchell 0
fly by dead reconing (landmarks,roads, etc) during the good conditions and to look at places you wish you could get to if you got caught in weather
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chalet
chalet 0
The Europeans launched the first satellite of their Galileo GPS system last October and plan to make it a 30-strong satellite system until 2014. However with the current state of their financial affairs who knows, maybe they will scale it down.
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cheshire
Cal Keegan 0
I have a concern about jamming, but GPS is just incredibly useful, prices are plummeting, and, just a guess, but it's been way more reliable than VORs overall.

Just about nobody gets lost in the air if they have a GPS, even a handheld, and anything that increases situational awareness without increasing workload too much, like a moving map display, terrain and obstacle database, etc, is almost always a good thing.
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earendil
earendil 0
I completely agree. Jamming (or Radio-Frequency Interference for that matter) is always an issue when dealing with signal as weak as GPS (which is below the thermal noise level). It's wrong how we have depended so much upon GPS (imagine how many stuffs around us that depend heavily on GPS - more on the timing side). It's almost as bad as narcotics addiction.
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preacher1
preacher1 0
That is the major problem with LIGHTSQUARED right now. Regardless of your politics, all the testing seems to have been in their assigned frequency band and at assigned power levels. It is the weakness of the GPS signals and our dependence on it that is causing all the uproar and problems.
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WALLACE24
WALLACE24 0
I'm sure Lightsquared padded a lot of pockets to get where they are at. But, GPS was here first and should take priority. The government that got us to this point has the ability to strengthen the GPS system (in more ways than one) and to back LS off if need be. Of course LS won't see it that way since they already put out a lot of $ and promises to you know who.
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chalet
chalet 0
Can´t VOR signals be interfered too.
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earendil
earendil 0
It is much harder to jam VOR signals since they are much stronger than GPS signals. They are located on the earth's surface and therefore at a much closer distance than the GPS satellites are.
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onceastudentpilot
tim mitchell 0
all is fine and dandy until the gps unit can't triangulate then atc will have to vector the flight to its destination..lol....plus that would impact a "LOT" of older or un-updated aircraft
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pfp217
pfp217 0
I agree....VORs were/are independent systems that go down individually which means there is usually a suitable back up nearby. GPS relies on several satalites where a failure can compromise the entire system...
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earendil
earendil 0
I believe that's why FAA is looking for APNT before actually decommissioning those VORs. Regarding the impact on older aircraft, by 2014 when ADSB is required, we will all be flying with GPS.
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THRUSTT
THRUSTT 0
Well, good thing they're still there because I just did TEB-PDK-TEB in a Lear 55 going VOR to VOR...
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preacher1
preacher1 0
Whatsamatter ol' boy, you don't like Charlie Brown.lol
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