DME

AST 241
DME Theory
Most VORs in the US have DME-
distance measuring equipment or are co-
located with a military TACAN facility
which provides the same information.
VOR navigation is much improved with
DME as it only provides:
Azimuth information
DME Theory
DME is required for aerial navigation
above?
FL 240 or 24,000 ft.
Especially useful in IFR operations
VOR and DME are essentially unified
systems which are seamless to the pilot
when co-located
DME theory
Each VOR frequency from 108.00 to
117.95 MHz (VHF) has a corresponding
UHF freq. Ranging from 962 1213 MHz
Pilots usually have to tune only one freq.
With newer receivers
DMEs can be received independent of the
VOR if the tuner is separate but the
information is of little use for most pilots
DME Theory
For civilian users VOR/DME and VORs
co-located with TACAN (VORTACs) are
essentially the same thing providing pilots
with the same information.
TACAN was developed by the military to:
Rectify terrain interference problems
Rectify portability problems
Rectify the need for a level platform- (carriers)
DME Theory
Civilian users cant take advantage of
TACANs azimuth information and
military pilots cant use DME information
DME Operation
Similar to the ATC Radio beacon system
or Transponder system
VORs are a Passive System giving
continuous information
DMEs respond only when interrogated
making them an Active System
DME Operation
Each DME receiver emits two distinctly (to
that receiver) spaced pulses which are
replied to in identical fashion by the
ground based unit.
The DME receiver ignores all other replies.
This is why the DME can take up to 10
seconds to lock on to its unique reply
Once locked it updates every 1/10
th
mile
DME Operation
The time difference between interrogation
and reply corresponds to the aircrafts
straight line distance from the station.
12/1,000,000 of a second in time
corresponds to 1 NM in distance

DME Operation
DME accuracy varies from 3 % of total distance
(6 NM at 200 miles out) up to being within .1
NM at all distances for the higher end receivers-
as good as GPS
The most common operational mistake is to
forget to select the correct VOR if the aircraft is
equipped with 2 VORs or leaving it in the
hold mode which holds the last frequency
tuned rather than the current one.
DME operation
The most common units today are
selectable between the dual VOR
receivers- if not then the DME signal is
usually taken from the #1 VOR but BE
SURE!-

ALWAYS VERIFY!!
DME Operation
Groundspeed and time to Station- Since
DME uses rate of response information to
get distance it is a small step for the
receiver to calculate groundspeed and time
to the station.
This information is usually displayed in a
separate window labeled- KTS. MIN. OFF
DME Operation
It is important to remember that this only
works if heading directly to or from the
station- angular motion w.r.t. the station
makes all DME information USELESS!
DME identification
DME stations are identified in the same
coded manner using the same identification
as the corresponding VOR station.
The DME portion is broadcast at a higher
pitch and is less frequent than the VOR
identification- every 30 seconds.
DME overload
DME transmitters can become overloaded
during heavy usage causing the late
comers not to lock on the the freq.
It is courteous to always turn off the DME
receiver when not in use such as when on
the ground or when DME info. Is not
needed.
DME error
Slant range error occurs because the DME
calculates its straight line or slant range
distance from the station which is not as
useful to pilots as ground distance.
This causes all DME indications to be
inaccurate when greater than 1,000 ft. AGL
for each NM from the station- otherwise it
can be ignored.
DME Error
For example if a pilot is at 3,000 ft AGL at
2 miles from the station the error is out of
tolerance.
Remember for accuracy be at least 1NM
from the station for each 1,000 ft AGL
DME Arc
Older instrument approach procedure
where the DME information is used to fly a
constant radius around the transmitter
This becomes easier when VOR lead
radials are used to prompt the turn
DME Operation
DME is Rho-Rho navigation
Rho = distance
Theta = azimuth
VOR/DME together is theta rho nav.
2 VORs are theta - theta nav.
Rho rho nav. Requires 3 DME readings
to determine position
Questions?
The End