Lesson 22

Navigation aids systems. Fundamentals.

Aviónica y Conocimiento General de Aeronaves

Dr. David S. Martínez Hernández

Centro Universitario de la Defensa de San Javier

MDE-UPCT, ESPAÑA.
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Introduction
• 1930s, navigation expands  the first radio navigation systems
were developed.
• Initially installed at the new growing US airports (last
decommissioned in 1979).
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Introduction
• 1930s, navigation expands  the first radio navigation systems
were developed.
• Initially installed at the new growing US airports (last
decommissioned in 1979).
• Radio range system (Bellini, Italy 1907): transmission of morse
characters A (dot-dash) and N (dash-dot) in four evenly spaced
orthogonal directions.
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Introduction
• 1930s, navigation expands  the first radio navigation systems
were developed.
• Initially installed at the new growing US airports (last
decommissioned in 1979).
• Radio range system (Bellini, Italy 1907): transmission of morse
characters A (dot-dash) and N (dash-dot) in four evenly spaced
orthogonal directions.
• WWII  International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)
produced international standards that led to the definition of
the very high-frequency omnirange (VOR).
• Military aircraft sharing the airspace with civil users  will
utilize a similar suite on navigation aids.
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Introduction
Navigation aids:
 Automatic direction finding (ADF).
 VHF omnirange (VOR).
 Distance-measuring equipment (DME).
 Tactical air navigation (TACAN).
 VOR/TACAN (VORTAC).
 Long range navigation (LORAN).
Landing aids:
 Instrument landing system (ILS);
 Microwave landing system (MLS).
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Automatic Direction Finding (ADF)

• Loop direction finding technique  establish the bearing to a
radiating source.
• VHF beacon or a non-distance beacon (NDB)
operating in the 200–1600 kHz band.
• NDB: most prolific and widely spread beacons in
use today.
• Aircraft ADF system: integral sense and loop antennas which
establish the bearing of the NBD station to which the ADF
receiver is tuned.
• The bearing is shown on the radio magnetic indicator (RMI)
(analogue cockpit) or on the electronic flight instrument system
(EFIS).
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Automatic Direction Finding (ADF)

• ADF is used by surveillance aircraft such as MPA on an air sea
rescue mission to home on to a personal locator beacon used by
downed airmen or installed in life rafts.
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Very High-frequency Omnirange (VOR)

• Accepted as standard by the United States in 1946 and later
adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)
as an international standard.
• Provides a set of radio beacons operating in
the VHF (108–117.95 MHz with 100 kHz
spacing).
• Each beacon emits a Morse code modulated
tone (may be provided to the flight crew for
beacon identification).
• Ground station radiates a
cardioid pattern  rotates at 30
rps (30 Hz modulation).
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Very High-frequency Omnirange (VOR)

• Ground station also radiates an omnidirectional signal frequency
modulated with a 30 Hz reference tone.
• Phase difference between the two tones varies directly with the
bearing of the aircraft.
• No sky wave effects  relatively consistent system performance
• VOR can be severely disrupted by adverse weather (electrical
storms)  cannot be used as a primary means of navigation for
a civil aircraft.
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Very High-frequency Omnirange (VOR)

• North American continent and Europe  VOR beacons widely
situated to provide an overall coverage of beacons (coincide
with major airway waypoints and intersections in conjunction
with DME stations).
• VHF band  beacons are subject to the
line-of sight and terrain-masking
limitations.
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Distance-measuring Equipment (DME)

• Pulse ranging method used in the 960–1215MHz band to
determine the distance of the aircraft from a designated ground
station. • Aircraft interrogates a ground-based beacon
determining the range to the DME beacon
• DME beacons: able to service requests from a
large number of aircraft simultaneously (200 at
once).

DME accuracy is ± 3% or
± 0.5 nm
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Distance-measuring Equipment (DME)

• Aircraft can navigate the airways by having a combination of
VOR bearing and DME distance to the next beacon.
• Scanning DME  allows the airborne equipment rapidly to scan
a number of DME beacons: greater accuracy by taking the best
estimate of a number of distance readings.
• VOR/DME navigation aids has served US/Europe for many years,
but it depends upon establishing and maintaining a beacon
• structure across the land mass
or continent being covered.
• Developments in third-world
countries  skip this
approach in favor of a global
positioning system (GPS).
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Tactical air navigation (TACAN)

• Military omnibearing and distance-measuring equipment
(similar techniques for distance measurement as DME).
• Bearing information accomplished by amplitude modulation (15
and 135 Hz modulated patterns  transmits this data together
with 15 and 135 Hz reference pulses.
• Able to measure distance using DME
interrogation while using modulated data
to establish bearing.
• TACAN beacons operate in the frequency
band 960–1215 MHz as opposed to the
108–118MHz used by DME  smaller
beacons, suitable for shipborne/mobile
tactical use.
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Tactical air navigation (TACAN)

• Some airborne equipment have the ability to offset to a point
remote from the beacon.
• Accuracy to within ±1% in azimuth and ±0.1 nm in range,
(improvements over VOR/DME).
• TACAN  allow aircraft to home on to another aircraft (used in
air-to-air refueling: aircraft homes on to the donor tanker).
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

VORTAC
• VORTAC beacons combine VOR and TACAN beacons 
interoperability of military and civil air traffic.
• Military operators use the TACAN beacon while civil operators
use the VOR bearing and TACAN (DME).
• Helpful for large
military aircraft (able
to use civil air lanes
and operational
procedures during
training or on transit
between theatres of
operations
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Hyperbolic Navigation Systems – LORAN-C

• Operate upon hyperbolic lines of position rather than circles or
radial lines (DME).
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Hyperbolic Navigation Systems – LORAN-C

• Conceived at the beginning of WWII
• Worldwide coverage in 1996, new stations planned in 1990.
• At least three stations, one being nominated as the master. The
time difference of arrival between the master and slaves allows
position to be determined.
• Accuracy 0.25 nm.
• With the arrival of GPS LORAN-C is gradually abandoned (only
stations between Canada and Russia are maintained).
• In 2010 a possible war with North Corea suggested the necessity
of a new system (eLORAN).
• Finally has been abandoned due to high maintenance cost of
the equipment's.
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Instrumental landing System (ILS)

• In widespread use since the 1960s and 1970s.

• ILS include:
 A localizer antenna centered on the runway to provide
lateral guidance (40 channels 108–112 MHz band) 
provides left & right lobe signals modulated by different
frequencies (90 and 150 Hz). One signal or the other will
dominate when the aircraft is off the runway centre-line.
 A glideslope antenna located beside the runway threshold
to provide vertical guidance (40 channels 329–335
MHz).Two beams  null position is aligned with the desired
glideslope. Pilots are provided with ‘fly up’ or fly down’
guidance.
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Instrumental landing System (ILS)

 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Instrumental landing System (ILS)

 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Instrumental landing System (ILS)

 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Instrumental landing System (ILS)

 Marker beacons located at various points down the
approach path to give the pilot information as to what stage
on the approach has been reached.
o Outer marker approximately 4–7 nm from the runway
threshold;
o Middle marker ~3000 ft from touchdown;
o Inner marker ~ 1000 ft from touchdown.
 The marker beacons are all fan beams radiating on 75 MHz
and provide different morse code modulation tones.
 Overall audio effect of the marker beacons is to convey an
increasing sense of urgency to the pilot as the aircraft nears
the runway threshhold.
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Instrumental landing System (ILS)

 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Instrumental landing System (ILS)

 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Instrumental landing System (ILS)

• Disadvantage  susceptibility to beam distortion and multipath
effects. Distortion can be caused by local terrain effects, large
man-made structures or even taxiing aircraft.
• Busy airfields/during periods of limited visibility  reduction in
airfield capacity.

• Interference by
local FM radio 
overcame by
including improved
discrimination
circuits in the
aircraft ILS receiver.
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Instrumental landing System (ILS)

Categories
• CAT I Minimum visibility 2400 ft or 1800 with central ligth.
• CAT II Almost null visibility (1200 ft)  require special aricraft
and crew certification
• CAT III automatic landing system
CAT IIIa visibility 700 ft.
CAT IIIb visibility 150 ft.
CAT IIIc no visibility.
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Microwave Landing System (MLS)

• Conceived to redress some of the shortcomings of the ILS.
• Developed through the late 1970s/early 1980s.
• Transition to the MLS was envisaged to begin in 1998.
• Emergence of satellite systems (i.e. GPS)  ILS and MLS could
be rendered obsolete when such systems reach maturity.
• US civil community  GPS system: the wide-area augmentation
system (WAAS) and local-area augmentation system (LAAS)
• Europe, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Denmark 
modest programm of MLS installations at major airports.
• Frequency band 5031.0–5190.7 MHz, 200 channels of
operation  wider field of view than the ILS (±40º in azimuth
and up to ±20º in elevation)
 Radar systems. Fundamentals and types

Microwave landing System (MLS)

• Co-location of a DME beacon  three-dimensional positioning
with regard to the runway.
• Higher data rate (10 times
higher than necessary) 
curved approach paths.