VOR Minimum Operational Network

The world of aviation as we know is constantly evolving, as GPS becomes our primary source of navigation a lot of VOR’s are being phased out. But what happens if we lose GPS signal in flight? The FAA has kept a minimum amount of VOR’s across the United States to allow pilots to continue through the outage area using VOR station-to-station navigation. This is known as the VOR Minimum Operational Network or VOR MON. With VOR MON coming into the picture new service volumes have been created. Let’s start with the new Low VOR service volume. This type begins at 1,000 feet above the surface to 5,000 feet with a range of 40 NM. From 5,000 feet up to 18,000 feet the range is 70 NM. Next we have the new VOR High service volume. This volume begins at 1,000 ft with a 40 NM range extending up to 5,000 ft. From 5,000 ft up to 14,500 ft we have a range of 70 NM. The next layer extends from 14,500 ft to 18,000 ft with a range of 100 NM. Above that the range extends to 130 NM up to 45,000 ft. From 45,000 ft to 60,000 feet we have the final layer extending 100 NM.

Service Volumes

FAA VOR MON

What is VOR MON