NAV Radio

A NAV radio receives VOR beacon signals and ILS ground station signals for navigation. On the VOR side, it drives a course deviation indicator (CDI) showing which side of the selected radial you are on. On ILS, it decodes both the localizer frequency for lateral guidance and the glideslope signal for vertical guidance on final approach.

Standalone NAV radios are less common than they used to be. Most training aircraft combine the NAV receiver with a COMM radio in a NAV/COMM unit, and many modern installations have replaced VOR navigation almost entirely with WAAS GPS. That said, a working NAV radio is still required for IFR operations and for flying ILS approaches at airports without GPS overlays.