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This glossary is written for virtual airline and flight simulation use within Virtual Air Canada Airline. It is not intended as a real-world aviation reference.
The Automatic Direction Finder is a radio navigation instrument that determines the bearing to a ground-based Non-Directional Beacon (NDB). It is one of the oldest forms of radio navigation in aviation, predating VOR and GPS systems. The ADF needle on the cockpit instrument points toward the NDB station, allowing pilots to navigate to or from it. While largely superseded by VOR and GNSS-based navigation, ADF/NDB systems remain in use at some airports and are still part of instrument approach procedures in certain regions. Some older or remote airports rely on NDB approaches as their primary instrument procedure.

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In Virtual Airline Operations

ADF navigation is modeled in most flight simulators and is relevant when flying older aircraft add-ons or NDB approach procedures. Some scenery packages include NDB stations that can be tuned and tracked using the ADF instrument in the cockpit.
  • VOR - VHF Omnidirectional Range
  • GNSS - Global Navigation Satellite System
  • RNAV - Area Navigation
  • ILS - Instrument Landing System