PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - VOR - obsolete soon ....???
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Old 3rd Aug 2003, 01:30
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OzExpat


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Lightbulb

Ah yes, I see it all now. I think this is what was meant...

...have heard various stories about VOR becoming obsolete in the near future. Is this true ? If so when? and will GPS be the only NAV used ? (Don't think we were supposed to replace "NAV" with "GPS" though...)
That being the case, yes there's a chance that VORs and NDBs and even DMEs will be phased out in time, to be replaced by GPS for enroute and non-precision approach. The speed with which this happens might make yer average snail look like a record breaker so don't hold your breath. My information is that the FAA has plans to rationalise the number of VORs that they will continue to maintain into the forseeable future, but it isn't an especially aggressive rationalisation. The last I heard, they were talking about retaining some 900 VORs!

There is certainly going to be scope for regulators all over the world to go deeply into GPS with the advent of receivers meeting TSO 145A or 146A specifications. It is certainly being looked at very seriously in the poorer countries that have difficulty in keeping conventional navaids serviceable. However, I doubt that you'll see significant changes in less than 5-10 years.
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