I Built a VOR Navigation Trainer
Date Published
Try it now: Open the VOR Navigation Trainer →
VOR navigation is one of the first instrument skills a new IFR pilot learns, and one of the first to get rusty once GPS becomes the default. The idea behind a VOR — a ground station that broadcasts radials in every direction like spokes on a wheel, with your CDI telling you where you are relative to one of those radials — is simple enough on paper. The hard part is building the mental picture fast enough to be useful when you are heads-down in actual IMC.
So I built an interactive VOR trainer that runs entirely in the browser. No app to install, no login, no ads. You fly an aircraft around a VOR station, watch the CDI and OBS respond in real time, and the tool explains what is happening as it happens. It is the thing I wish existed when I was studying for my instrument rating.
What a VOR actually does
A VOR transmits 360 radials, each one a magnetic bearing measured outbound from the station. When you tune one in and set a course on the OBS, the CDI deflects left or right to show how far off that course you are. The to/from flag tells you whether flying your selected course would take you toward the station or away from it. That is the whole instrument — but the interaction between your heading, the OBS setting, and the to/from flag trips up students constantly.
How the trainer works
The trainer shows a plan view of the VOR station with the aircraft flying around it. A realistic CDI instrument updates live as you move. You can control the aircraft heading and speed, set any OBS course, and watch the needle and flag respond. A live coach in the corner explains what you are seeing: why the needle is deflecting that way, when the to/from flag flips, and what intercept angle to use to track a radial. There is also a quiz mode that puts you in a random position and asks you to identify your situation — then walks you through the answer.
Who it is for
If you are working on your instrument rating, this is a good supplement to ground school. If you are a current instrument pilot who has been flying GPS approaches for the last three years, it is a good refresher before your next IPC. And if you are just a ham radio operator or aviation enthusiast who wants to understand how VOR navigation actually works, the visual explanation makes it click faster than any textbook I have found.