VOR COSTA Knokke-Heist: the air navigation beacon hidden in the polders

Par Gabriel Goldberg 9 September 2026 11 min read

You cycle through the polders, you look up, and you see something strange: a low green metal platform standing over a stubble field, topped by a perfect ring of small white domes, like a row of concrete mushrooms lined up with a ruler. No sign, no explanation, just a fence and silver willows. This is the VOR/DME "COSTA" , on Dijkgraafstraat, 8300 Knokke-Heist . A lighthouse — but a lighthouse for those who fly. Close view of the white antenna ring of the VOR/DME COSTA in Knokke-Heist: a double row of mushroom-shaped white domes on short masts above a green metal counterpoise, with the central DME mast and its wind sock against a deep blue sky. In short: the VOR/DME COSTA is an air navigation beacon in the polders of Knokke-Heist (Dijkgraafstraat, 8300) , a few kilometres from the Zwin nature reserve and the sea dyke. It is operated by Skeyes , the Belgian public air traffic service provider. The VOR (VHF Omnidirectional Range) tells aircraft which radial they are on relative to the station; the DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) gives them the distance . Together they provide a full position fix. The ring of white domes is a Doppler VOR : it electronically simulates an ultra-fast rotating antenna to eliminate terrain reflections. The site is fenced and closed to the public , but clearly visible from the road and the polder cycle paths. 1. An apparition in the flatness of the polders You have to have cycled the hinterland of Knokke to understand the effect. Everything here is…