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LDG_GEAR _MONITOR
20th Jan 2002, 16:08
help ! trying to understand the differenced between vor,vor dme,vortac and tacan. i know dme is distance,vor gives u raidial. if on a high alt jep u can sort out vor/dme by frequency,and the letter d for dme.

but where does tacan and vortac fit in ? how can u tell the difference on a high alt jep ? i notice at some reportng points theres a note to say vortac not colocated - does this mean a normal vor has a vortac facility ?

im lost - can any one help ??

Tinstaafl
20th Jan 2002, 18:33
VOR: VHF Omnidirectional Range. As you say, it allows a suitable receiver to determine the radial on which you're located.

TACAN: Tactical Air Navigation (or something similar <img src="redface.gif" border="0"> ). A military navigation aid that provides distance as well as radial (or is it bearing?) information. The radial/bearing function is not compatible with the VOR system/receivers. The distance funtion is compatible with civil DME equipment.

DME: Distance Measuring Equipment. Again as you say, it provides distance information. Compatible with the distance function provided by TACAN.

To get the equivalent information provided by a TACAN installation, but using VOR/DME requires a co-located VOR and DME. The term 'co-located' specifies that the transmitters for the two aids are within a certain maximum distance of each other. To all intents & purposes are at the same place.

VORTAC: VOR & TACAN. It is also possible for civil aircraft to get equivalent information to co-located VOR/DME or (for military, TACAN) if a TACAN installation also has a VOR co-located with it.

If a multiple navigation aid installation such as a VORTAC or VOR/DME does not meet the co-location criteria then you are informed of such. Otherwise when the various instrument readings are compared one might reach the erroneous conclusion that one of them is in error.

Oops. Quicker off the mark than me, BIK!

[ 20 January 2002: Message edited by: Tinstaafl ]</p>