Instrument pilots use Morse code to identify ground-based navigation aids such as Instrument Landing System (ILS) or VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR)[0].
The VOR does not account for the aircraft heading. It only
relays the aircraft direction from the station and has the same indications regardless of which way the nose is pointing. Tune the VOR receiver to the appropriate frequency of the selected VOR ground station, turn up the audio volume, and identify the station’s signal audibly. Then, rotate the OBS to center the CDI needle and read the course under or over the index.
Say a pilot is flying by reference to Avenal VORTAC[1]. She would tune a nav radio to 117.1 and listen for Morse code tones AVE, the station’s identifier and helpfully printed on the chart for quick reference. Nice avionics units will perform this translation for the pilot.
The VOR does not account for the aircraft heading. It only relays the aircraft direction from the station and has the same indications regardless of which way the nose is pointing. Tune the VOR receiver to the appropriate frequency of the selected VOR ground station, turn up the audio volume, and identify the station’s signal audibly. Then, rotate the OBS to center the CDI needle and read the course under or over the index.
Say a pilot is flying by reference to Avenal VORTAC[1]. She would tune a nav radio to 117.1 and listen for Morse code tones AVE, the station’s identifier and helpfully printed on the chart for quick reference. Nice avionics units will perform this translation for the pilot.
[0]: FAA Instrument Flying Handbook, https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/a...
[1]: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/VOR_on_s...