AIRCRAFT

NAVIGATION

Presented by : - EL_HASSANI Houssam

- MOUTIA Younes
PLAN

 INTRODUCTION
 DEFINITION
 IN THE PAST

 METHODES OF AIR NAVIGATION

 DEAD RECKONING NAVIGATION
 VISUAL NAVIGATION
 ELECTRONIC NAVIGATION

 AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION SYSTEM

 GNSS
 IRS
 FMS

 CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION

The most fundamental mission of an aircraft is to

move from point A to point B. To do so, the crew
needs to determine in which direction they
should fly.
This can be as simple as following visually
identifiable landmarks on ground, during a
daytime flight with good weather condition.

However, when visibility is not granted, due to a

cloudy sky or a night flight, or even if the
travelling distance is simply too large for visual
flight, some aid is required for the pilots:
Navigation Systems.
DEFINITION

Aircraft navigation or just air navigation refers to

taking an aircraft from starting point to the desired
destination while never losing control, getting lost,
violating regulations governing aircraft operations,
or putting people on board and the ground at risk.

The basic principles of general navigation (sea and

ground) apply to aircraft navigation, including
planning, recording, and controlling the movement
of the aircraft in the air. And all this is achieved by
using certain navigation aids to help the pilots
always know their exact location.
 IN THE PAST
In the past, captains of the sailing ships in the
early days relied on their navigator, a man in
charge of marking a course from start to
destination and determining the ship’s
current location either on paper or a map by
using complicated geometrical instruments
and calculations. However, modern aircraft,
especially military aircraft, fly at very high
speeds that leave no place for such
calculations.

Fortunately, technological developments

have allowed aircraft to reach remote areas
without any problem thanks to well-
developed navigation methods. Let’s dive
into the most common methods used for air
navigation nowadays.
 METHODS OF
AIR NAVIGATION
DEAD RECKONING
NAVIGATION :

Dead reckoning is a basic method where navigation takes place based

on time, speed, direction, and position computations. These
computations are adjusted for wind speed to get the real direction
and ground speed. Checkpoints are established to verify the direction
and ground speed are correct, making it possible to determine the
arrival time to the destination.
To calculate you must use the following three equations :
(D = Distance in miles, T = Time in hours and S = Speed in knots
or mph):
D=ST or S=D/T or T=D/S

• 1mile = 1,609 KM
• 1 hour = 3600s
• 1knot = 1nauticalmile per hour = 1,852km/h
 POSITION :

Position is a geographic point defined by coordinates.

The primary system used in aviation is the
latitude/longitude system.
Every point on the surface of the earth can be defined by
a specific latitude and by a specific longitude
Lines of latitude are also called parallels, while lines of * N.B :
longitude can be referred to as meridians. Always read latitude first and use 3 digits for longitude
Some examples of locations : to avoid confusion.

- New York City, NY, USA : 40° 43’N , 73° 56’ W

- Ecuador, South America : 1° 47’ S , 78° 08' W 30° 22'N, 087° 19’W. May also be expressed as N30°
22', W087° 19')
- Casablanca, Morocco, North Africa : 33° 35’ N , 7° 36' W
AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENTS
FOR DR :

- There are three primary aircraft

instruments essential for DR navigation

- Two secondary instruments, the altimeter

and outside air temperature (OAT) gauge,
provide altitude and temperature
information. This information is used to
calculate the effects of the air’s density
 VISUAL NAVIGATION :

This is perhaps the most basic navigation

method. Here the pilot uses visual references
and the position relative to specific landmarks
found on the ground. The references and
landmarks the pilot will use while flying are
established on the ground before takeoff and
marked along the route on an aeronautical map.
Common landmarks used include but are not
limited to:

• Rivers
• Mountains
• Buildings
 ELECTRONIC NAVIGATION :

• One of the most used methods is radio

navigation. This navigation system allows the
pilot to tune in to the right radio station, which
is usually provided in navigation charts, and get
the current position and course of flight in the
navigation equipment installed in the aircraft.
• Global Positioning System (GPS), this became a
real global navigation system in 1994 when the
24th satellite was launched. This global
navigation satellite system provides flight
location and time information in all weather
and climatic conditions.
AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION SYSTEM

A navigation system is defined as those devices in the cockpit that assist the
pilot in determining the position of the aircraft. Navigation systems comprise
both on-board aircraft systems and radio aids.

There are several on-board navigation systems which can be divided into:
• Global Navigation Satellite System – GNSS
• Inertial Reference System – IRS
• Flight Management System – FMS
Before the flight, the pilot must load the route to be flown into the system.
Once the route has been programmed, the pilot will be able to monitor it
during the flight. The navigation system will detect elements that may affect
the flight, such as airports, other aircraft, bad weather, mountains, …
 GNSS

Global Navigation Satellite System is the set of

navigation systems that help the pilot to know the
coordinates, speed, altitude and other parameters of
the aircraft. The three most established systems
worldwide are:

• GPS (Global Positioning System)

• GLONASS (Global’naya Navigatsionnaa Sputnikovaya
Sistema)
• Galileo (European Satellite Positioning and Radio
Navigation System)
IRS

The inertial reference system is a

navigation system that does not require
data external to the flight. The IRS,
through the accelerometer and
gyroscope, detects the displacement on
any axis and calculates the position of
the aircraft.

Its operation is completely autonomous

and all it requires is that, at the beginning
of the flight, before take-off, pilots must
tell the system the position of the aircraft
in terms of latitude and longitude.
FMS (Flight Management System)

This navigation system can be considered the brain of

the aircraft. Its function, as its name suggests, is flight
management. By means of the determined route data,
the FMS will provide the pilots with the flight
parameter calculations.
Some functions of the flight management system are:
• Configuration of the autopilot.
• Configuration of take-off and approach routes and
the information transmitted by air traffic controllers.
• Recommendations to reduce fuel consumption.
CONCLUSION

Finally, it is important to highlight

that navigation is not limited to
the air. Aircraft on the ground
also use data from the
equipment as well as any other
possible reference to navigate
while taxiing from the runway to
the gate after landing or during
other ground operations