news-record.com

Question: Each day as I drive my children to Southwest Middle School, I wonder about the unusual structure on Willard Dairy Road. No one seems to know what it is or what it’s used for. The students have guessed everything from an automatic milking machine to an alien spaceship. It would be great to find out more about it.

— Michelle Fendrich

Answer:  Well, even though the big, white, steel carousel-shaped structure with air conditioning units and a padlocked fence sits in the middle of a corn field next to a dairy farm, its true function is closer to spaceship than milking machine.

Sort of.

We consulted our friendly representatives at the Federal Aviation Administration after rolling up the gravel road to the mysterious contraption a mile off N.C. 68 and reading the rather ominous warning signs from Uncle Sam:

“This facility is used in FAA Air Traffic Control. Loss of human life may result from service interruption. Any person who interferes with air traffic control or damages or trespasses on this property will be prosecuted under federal law.”

Backing away, quickly, after jotting down the toll-free number, which turned out to be disconnected (darned budget cuts), Ask a Reporter called the FAA at Piedmont Triad International Airport.

“Does it look like a big sombrero?” asked an aviation safety inspector, who declined to be named but had encountered this question before.

“That is a transmitting station used by aircraft to navigate,” the inspector said. “It’s part of the national airspace. It’s been around as long as I have, and I’m 46. And my boss says if I ever get famous, I’m fired.”

According to Inspector Sombrero, the alien-looking apparatus is called a “VOR.”

That stands for “VHF, omni-directional range,” and it sends out a radio signal to an aircraft’s navigation system.

But, we asked, what if we kids want to know more?

“Just Google it.”

— Lorraine Ahearn