"Mike W." wrote in message
...


The R means Range and always has.

I still don't understand why the word 'range' is in there, a VOR doesn't
give you any distance to or from anything unless you use two or more of
them
to determine your position.

You can determine distance from a VOR with the aid of a clock and a
bit of math. Turn 90 degrees to the inbound course and time 5 or 10
degrees of the arc. Note that this also works with an ADF.

Times here are in minutes.
Time to station = time * 60 / degrees change
Distance from station = time * TAS / degrees change
This one works with knots or MPH but MPH gives distance
in statute miles instead of nautical miles.

If close to the VOR (seconds = minutes * 60)
Time to station (minutes) = seconds/degrees change (usually 10 degrees)

You can typically do the math in your head fairly close or more
accurately with a wiz wheel or a calculator.