VORs for Armageddon

Its the summer of 2020, and youre tooling along in your G10,000-equipped bugsmasher, dutifully tracking that magenta line direct to your destination because NextGen allows free flight RNAV-direct navigation. Weve come so far from the days of A/N ranges and dead reckoning.

Editorial Staff

Friday, August 01, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The FAA's interim plan for GPS navigation failures is the **Minimum Operating Network (MON)**, a scaled-down system of VOR stations offering ground-based backup navigation at or above 5000 feet AGL.
MON is designed to allow aircraft to navigate out of affected areas or to airports with traditional instrument approaches, but it necessitates pilots maintaining proficiency in VOR-based navigation skills.
A more robust, long-term solution called **Alternate PNT (APNT)** is under development for deployment around 2025, aiming to provide a smooth transition to backup, performance-based navigation during GPS outages.
Despite the high reliability of the GPS system, it remains susceptible to strong solar storms, emphasizing the importance for pilots to retain traditional navigation skills like VOR tracking and dead reckoning.

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With everything going to GPS for navigation and position on ATC scopes, what happens if GPS fails? Fear not, the FAA has a plan. Don’t you feel better now?

It’s the summer of 2020, and you’re tooling along in your G10,000-equipped bugsmasher, dutifully tracking that magenta line direct to your destination because NextGen allows “free flight” RNAV-direct navigation. We’ve come so far from the days of A/N ranges and dead reckoning.