Navigational Aids

1
 Introduction

Navigational Aids are a form of marker, signal or device that aids an aircraft by guiding and
navigating it to its destination.  It can be in the form of
 Instrument Landing Systems (ILS)
 Distance Measuring Equipment (DME)
 Non-Directional Beacon (NDB)
 VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR).
 Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN)

Ground-based Navaids from the world's leading

manufacturers of these safety-critical systems,
including CAT Ӏ, CAT ӀӀ and CAT ӀӀӀ, instrument
landing system, DVORs, distance measuring
equipment and NDBs worldwide.

2
Instrument Landing Systems (ILS)

Instrument Landing System (ILS system) is a ground-based radio navigation

system giving pilots horizontal and vertical guidance towards the runway when
visual contact with the runway cannot be established.

These pieces of equipment are crucial for airports as

• They increase the reliability of every landing
• Reduce the decision altitude (altitude at which the pilot either commits
to the landing procedure or diverts)
• Ultimately ensure that the pilot can understand the runway no matter
the conditions.

3
 Ground Installation:
ILS works by beaming two radio transmissions of different frequencies up from the landing runway,
one of 90 Hz and one of 150 Hz. A radio beacon called a localizer is normally built at the end of the
runway with multiple pairs of directional antennas. . The ILS system provides both course and altitude
guidance to a specific runway. The ILS system is used to execute a precision instrument approach
procedure or precision approach.
The system consists of the following components and Ground Installation:

1. A localizer provides horizontal (left/right) guidance along the extended centerline of the runway.
2. glide slope provides vertical (up/down) guidance toward the runway touchdown point, usually at a
3° slope.
3. Marker beacons provide range information along the approach path.
4. Approach lights assist in the transition from instrument to visual flight.

Two airborne Equipment

1. LLZ and GP antennas located on aircraft nose

2. ILS indicator inside the cockpit
4
 How ILS works?

 Ground localizer antenna transmits VHF signal in direction opposite of runway to horizontal guide
aircraft to runway center line.
 Ground glide slope antenna transmit VHF signal in vertical direction to vertically guide aircraft to
touch down point.
 Localizer and glide path antenna receives both signals and send it to ILS indicator in the cockpit.
 These indicate activate the vertical and horizontal needles inside the ILS indicator to tell pilot either
go left/right or up/down.
 By keeping both needles centered, the pilot can guide his aircraft down to end the landing runway
aligned with the runway centre line and aiming the touch down.

5
Localizer:

The localizer antenna array is located at the departure end of the

runway. It uses Amplitude Modulation (AM), like in your old car radio,
to modulate two signals on the single VHF frequency — one at 90 Hz
and the other at 150 Hz. In a narrow pattern, these signals are emitted to
each side, left and right, of the localizer centerline.
The aircraft receives the 90 Hz signal more intensely when it is on the
center's left side and the 150 Hz more strongly when on the right side.
Both emissions are at equal amplitude on the localizer's centerline.
The aircraft's navigation equipment interprets these two signals' ratio
and deflects the CDI needle accordingly.

Localizer specs
Localizers operate on VHF frequencies between 108.1 and
111.95 MHz.

6
How it works?

7
Glide slope:
The glideslope provides vertical course guidance. Its angle varies with terrain requirements at the
specific runway but is typically 3 degrees.
Glideslope specs
Glideslope frequencies range between 329.3 and 335 MHz (UHF).
How does the glideslope work?
The glideslope operates very similarly to a localizer but on a vertical plane. The glideslope UHF
frequency carries two signals, one at 90 Hz and the other at 150 Hz. These signals are directionally
transmitted above and below the desired approach path, accordingly. The aircraft GS equipment
interprets both signals' amplitude to display the aircraft's vertical location above or below the path.

8
9
Range information

Range, or distance, information helps the pilot identify the aircraft's position on the instrument
approach.
Several types of equipment can provide the pilot with range information.

Marker Beacons
Each marker type implies a specific range from the runway and is indicated in the cockpit by a
color light and Morse code.
1. Outer Marker (OM)
2. Middle Marker (MM)
3. Inner Marker (IM)

10
Outer Marker (OM): located 4-7 miles from the runway threshold. It indicates the position at which
the aircraft should intercept the GS at the appropriate interception altitude ±50ft. A blue flashing light
and a series of audible dashes ("---") at 400 Hz identify the OM on the marker beacon receiver in the
cockpit.
Outer Marker: dash-dash-dash

Middle Marker (MM): Placed about 3500ft from the runway. Indicates the approximate point where
the GS meets the decision height, usually at 200ft above the touchdown zone elevation. Identified by an
amber light and an audible pattern of dot-dash-dot-dash (". - . -") at 1,300 Hz.
Middle Marker: dot-dash-dot-dash

Inner Marker (IM): placed between the MM and runway threshold. It indicates the point where the
glide slope meets the DH on a CAT II ILS approach — identified by a flashing white light and an
audible series of dots ( "...") at 3,000 Hz.
Inner Marker: dot-dot-dot

11
Back Course marker (BC): Indicates the FAF on selected back course approaches. This marker
shares the same light indication in the cockpit as the inner marker. Back course markers are not
part of an ILS approach. They are identified by the white, inner marker's light and an audible series
of double dots at 3,000 Hz (".. ..").

BC Marker: dot-dot, dot-dot

12
 Approach Light System
An Approach Light System (ALS) is a pattern of lights installed at the runway's approach end. It provides the pilot
with visible means to transition between instrument-guided flight into a visual approach to landing.

The ALS extends from the landing threshold into the approach area up to:
• 2,400 - 3,000 feet for precision instrument runways, and
• 1,400 - 1,500 feet for non-precision instrument runways.
Some Approach Light Systems include sequenced flashing lights (SF), often nicknamed "The Rabbit." These
appear to the pilot as a ball of light traveling towards the runway twice a second.
The pilot can estimate the available flight visibility according to the ALS configuration's visible parts by
being familiar with the pattern of different Approach Light Systems.
•The threshold markings.
•The threshold lights.
•The visual glideslope indicator. (i.e., PAPI, VASI)
•The touchdown zone or touchdown zone markings
•The touchdown zone lights.
•The runway or runway markings.
•The runway lights.

13
ILS Approach categories

14
Non-directional beacons (NDBs)

It is a are ground-based radio transmitters used to aid and navigate vessels in aviation and marine
applications during their approach.

• They have continued to provide a fundamental and reliable means of aircraft navigation despite the
arrival of GNSS and modern ground-based systems.
• The decommissioning of non-directional beacon systems does not appear to be likely to occur for
many years to come.
• For this reason, manufacturers are investing in the development of modern ultra-reliable systems.

15
Working:
NDBs transmit Omni-directional signals to an antenna on board the aircraft/ship. An automatic
direction finder (ADF) then uses the signal to determine the aircraft's bearing and display its
position in relation to the NDB transmitter.

The NDB is a ground-based transmitter situated in a ground station that broadcasts signals in

all directions (omnidirectional). The NDBs signal traverses the curvature of the Earth’s surface
and enables the pilot to plot a course to their destination.

NDB stations are classified as either compass locators, medium homing, homing or high
homing and are differentiated by their signal range.

Automatic Direction Finders

ADFs are onboard instruments that use antenna equipment to understand and display information
received from the NDB. These antennas include loop and sense antenna which use bidirectional
signals to identify the direction of the NDB 180 degrees apart (loop) and use non directional
signals to determine which direction correctly locates the position of the ground station (sense).
These radio waves are received at either medium or high frequencies.

16
 Limitations:

Skip Zone: an area of erratic indication or signal loss between the points where the
ground wave ends and the sky wave hits the ground.

Night Effect: occurs at night due to the reception of sky waves reflected by the
ionosphere. It is most pronounced at sunrise and sunset. Has a greater effect on higher
frequencies. More pronounced further from the station.

Terrain: mountains and natural magnetic disturbances effect signals. (accounted for
on published airways.)

Your footer goes in here 17

 Distance Measuring Equipment (DME)
DME aviation systems provide an aircraft with slant-range distance tracking using ground-based and
aircraft equipment.
The ground-based DME transmitter, usually coupled with a VHF omnidirectional radio range (VOR,
DVOR or CVOR), instrument landing system (ILS), non-directional beacon (NDB) or other instrument,
calculates the aircraft's flight position from the transmitter and displays the measurement to the pilot
within their onboard display. This distance is called the ‘slant range’ which is the line-of-sight distance
between the aircraft and the DME transmitter which are positioned at different levels (altitudes). The
slant-range distance enables the pilot to determine a time-to-station value which assists during the flight
path, descent and landing.

Your footer goes in here 18

Working:
DMEs and Navaids function using different frequencies. DMEs utilise ultra-high
frequencies (UHF) whereas the co-located VORs and ILSs utilise very-high
frequencies (VHF).

When an aircraft requests the slant distance, it sends a signal called the interrogation
pulse to the ground-based DME.

The transmitter then responds, relaying a signal back to the onboard aircraft
equipment.

The duration of this UHF signal to and from the DME station is then used to
calculate the distance of the straight line from craft to station. 
The on-board equipment used to display the slant distance can vary from
frequency selectors and radio magnetic indicator (RMI) instruments which display
the paired frequently of both the DME and VOR/ILS, or standalone instruments
which display information only from the DME. 19
DME Receiver Aircraft
 VOR

 The Very High-Frequency (VHF) Omnidirectional Range (VOR) system is used for air navigation.
 The Very High-Frequency (VHF) Omnidirectional Range (VOR) system is used for air navigation.
 The instrument type varies but consists of one of the following: an Omni-Bearing Indicator (OBI),
Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI) or a Radio Magnetic Indicator (RMI), or a combination of two
different kinds.
 Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) often is collocated with a VOR to give pilots a precise indication
of the aircraft's distance from the VOR station.

21
Working

 The ground station is aligned with magnetic north and emits two signals—a 360-degree sweeping
variable signal and an Omni-directional reference signal.
 The signals are compared by the aircraft's receiver, and a phase difference between them is
measured, giving a precise radial position of the aircraft and displaying it on the OBI, HSI, or RMI.
 VORs come with high, low, and terminal service volumes and dimensions.
 High-altitude VORs can be used up to 60,000 feet and 130 nautical miles wide.
 Low-altitude VORs service aircraft up to 18,000 feet and up to 40 nautical miles wide. Terminal
VORs go up to 12,000 feet and 25 nautical miles.
 The network of VORs typically provides thorough coverage along published visual flight rules
(VFR) and instrument flight rules (IFR) routes.

22
VOR Aircraft Equipment

23
VOR Aircraft Equipment

24
Radio Magnetic Indicator

• RMI is a bearing indicator

• The bearing indicator (pointer) always points to the VOR station
• The bearing indicator, in turn, is super imposed on an azimuth display
that is virtually identical to the aircraft’s heading indicator
• In the example to the right, the aircraft is flying a heading of 010°, the
bearing to the VOR is 270°, and the aircraft is currently crossing the
090° Radial ADF VOR Pointer.

25
Interpreting TO/FROM Flag
• The TO / FROM flag reflects the aircraft’s position relative to a line
through the VOR that is perpendicular to the radial shown under the
index
• In this case the perpendicular line runs from the 270° radial to the
090° radial
• Which means the aircraft is on a radial from the 090° radial to the 270°
radial on the bottom half of the instrument
• The flag always indicates the course to the VOR! Assuming the aircraft
is moving in the general direction of the OBS
----A “TO” flag means the aircraft has not yet passed the VOR on that
radial
---- FROM flag, however, means the aircraft is past the station on the
indicated radial and, if on that heading, moving further away
• If the TO / FROM is blank or neutral, the aircraft is in the “zone of
confusion” or on a radial perpendicular to the OBS (90° or 270° in this
case)

stands for the “Omni-Bearing Selector,” and it enables a pilot to select which direction they wish to fly towards or
away from a VOR navigational beacon or GPS waypoint. 26
Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN)

• TACAN, is a navigation system created for military aircraft

• More accurate version of the civilian DME system
• DME portion of TACAN is available for civilian use at
VORTACs
• Can provide distance up to 390NM

Your footer goes in here 27

 VHF Omni-directional Range/Tactical Air Navigation
(VORTAC)

• A VORTAC is a facility consisting of two components, VOR and TACAN, which provides three
individual services: VOR azimuth, TACAN azimuth and TACAN distance (DME) at one site.
• Although consisting of more than one component, incorporating more than one operating frequency,
and using more than one antenna system, a VORTAC is considered to be a unified navigational aid.
• Both components of a VORTAC are envisioned as operating simultaneously and providing the three
services at all times.
• Transmitted signals of VOR and TACAN are each identified by three-letter code transmission and are
interlocked so that pilots using VOR azimuth with TACAN distance can be assured that both signals
being received are definitely from the same ground station. 

Your footer goes in here 28

THANK
YOU

29