Unit-IV INTRODUCTION TO NAVIGATION SYSTEMS

Types of Radio Navigation

•ADF – Automatic Direction Finding
•DME – Distance Measuring Equipment
•VOR – VHF Omni-directional Range
•LORAN – Long Range Navigation
•DECCA
•OMEGA – Optimized Method for Estimated Guidance
Accuracy
 Radio Navigation

Radio navigation or radio-navigation is the application of radio

frequencies to determine a position of an object on the Earth,
either the vessel or an obstruction.
The basic principles are measurements from/to electric beacons,
especially
• Angular directions, e.g. by bearing, radio phases or
interferometry
• Distances, e.g. ranging by measurement of time of flight
between one transmitter and multiple receivers or vice versa,
• Distance differences by measurement of times of arrival of
signals from one transmitter to multiple receivers or vice versa
 Radio Navigation

• Partly also velocity, e.g. by means of radio Doppler shift.

Combinations of these measurement principles also are important
—e.g., many radars measure range and azimuth of a target.
 Radio Navigation

• Navigation by radio aids includes navigation mainly by

reference to indications of bearing and distance indicated on
VOR, DME and ADF equipment located on the aircraft. This
information is derived from ground radio beacons (VOR,
DME and NDBs or broadcast stations.)
• Radio navigation systems consist of networks of transmitters
that allow the user to locate his position in relation to the
network, and hence themselves. The Global Positioning
System (GPS) consists of a network of low earth orbit
satellites. ... GPS navigation systems are increasingly used in
many applications.
 Automatic Direction Finder

ADF – Automatic Direction Finder

NDB - Non Directional Beacon

• ADF & NDB is the one of the older types of radio navigation
system that still in use today.
• As it name, the signal transmitted by NDB does not included
directional information, but ADF automatically searching for
NDB signal.
• Non Directional Beacon (NDB) is used in conjunction with
Automatic Direction Finder (ADF) in the cockpit.
• ADF equipment consists of 1) ADF antenna (transmitter &
receiver) outside aircraft’s body, 2) an ADF indicator inside
the cockpit.
 ADF & NDB

• NDB equipment only consist of ground NDB antenna located

near the airport (airfield area).
• ADF determines the direction to ground NDB station.

ADF

NDB
ADF & NDB
ADF
 ADF & NDB

Purpose:
• The purpose of ADF/NDB is to provide aid for aircraft
navigation by provide bearing information of aircraft location
to the airport. (aircraft direction or heading to the airport in
degrees(angle))
• Bearing: the angle which measured in a clockwise direction.
• NDB bearings provide a consistent method for defining paths
aircraft can fly. NDB can define "airways" in the sky.
 ADF & NDB

NDB Frequencies:
• ICAO has assigned Low Frequency (LF) and Medium
Frequency (MF) band for NDB,
• It is within 200 – 1750 KHz.
• However, most of NDB equipment are found operating within
frequency band of 200-525 KHz.
 How ADF & NDB works?

• NDB station radiates a non-directional signal in all directions

around its antenna (transmitter).
• Station identification code(call sign) in the form Morse code is
also transmitted by the NDB.
• An ADF selector in aircraft will tune to NDB’s frequency in
order to search its signals.
• After NDB call sign is identified, the direction of aircraft in
bearing to the NDB station will be indicated.
• ADF indicator in the cockpit will display the bearing to the
NDB station relative to the heading of the aircraft.
ADF & NDB
 ADF EQUIPMENT
Antenna
The rotating loop antenna was eventually replaced with a fixed
antenna consisting of two loops combined into a single item; one
aligned with the centerline of the fuselage, the other at right
angles. This orthogonal antenna is still referred to as the ‘loop’
antenna. Measuring the signal strength from each of the loops,
and deriving an angular position in a dedicated ADF receiver,
determines the direction to the selected beacon (or commercial
radio station).
Receiver
Control Panel
 ADF & NDB

Uses of NDB:
• Used for FLYING FROM NDB or HOMING TO NDB when
maintaining airway centre-lines.
• Used for en-route navigational bearing
• Used for HOLDING system before landing.
• Used as markers for an Instrument Landing System (ILS)
approach
 FLYING FROM or HOMING TO NDB station

Flying From

Homing To
 En-Route Navigation

• Aircraft must maintain their heading using the Automatic

Direction Finding (ADF) in the cockpit.
• Pilot must always watch the relative bearing indicator to
maintain the airway center line.
Holding System
 Markers for an ILS approach

• NDB also can used as the markers for Instrument Landing

System (ILS) approach. This type of NDB is also known as
LOCATOR.
• Locator is a low power NDB.
• It has signal range within 10 to 25 Nautical Miles.
 Advantages of NDB

• NDB signal can be received at low altitudes.

• This is because NDB signal is based on surface wave
propagation (signal not limited to ‘line of sight’ ).
• NDB also can be used as the Back-Up system. For example,
during no signal given by the VHF Omni-directional Range
(VOR) system.
• NDB system only requires low cost for their maintenances.
• NDB still important for many small airports.
 Disadvantages of NDB

Limited Signal because of several factors including:

1. Interference Effect
2. Thunderstorm Effect
3. Mountain Effect
4. Night Effect
5. Coastal Refractions
 Disadvantages of NDB

• Interference Effect –interference occurs if an ADF receives two or

more signals radiated by NDB.
• Thunderstorm Effect – Thunderstorm have very powerful
discharges of static electricity that can interrupt the NDB signal.
Needle of ADF indicator sometimes points toward the storm.
• Mountain Effect – Mountain areas can cause reflections and
diffractions and lead to the error direction reading by ADF.
• Night Effect – Low signal or no signal during night time because
contamination of radio wave.
• Coastal Refractions– Also known as Shoreline Effect . Surface
wave travel in one direction over land, but another direction over
water (refraction). This can cause error reading in ADF indicator.
 Radio-Beacon
• In navigation, a radio beacon is a device that marks a fixed location
and allows direction-finding equipment to find relative bearing.
Radio beacons transmit a radio signal that is picked up by radio
direction-finding systems on ships, aircraft and vehicles to
determine the direction to the beacon.
• Radio beacons transmit a continuous or periodic radio signal with
limited information (for example, its identification or location) on a
specified radio frequency.
• Radio beacons have many applications, including air and sea
navigation, propagation research, robotic mapping, radio-frequency
identification (RFID), near-field communication (NFC) and indoor
guidance, as with real-time locating systems (RTLS) like Syledis or
simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM).
 Distance Measuring Equipment (DME)

• DME is a type of enroute navigation system for aircraft.

• Consists of two major equipment,
1. Ground station transponder
2. Interrogator in aircraft
• DME is required for aircraft operating at or above 24,000ft
DME
DME
 Components of DME

• Commercial transport aircraft are usually fitted with two independent DME systems,
comprising antennas and interrogators.
• The DME antennas are L-band blades, located on the underside of the aircraft
fuselage, note that the antenna is dual purpose in that it is used for both transmitting
and receiving.
• The interrogators are located in the equipment bays and provide three main functions:
transmitting, receiving and calculation of distance to the selected navigation aid.
• Transmission is in the range 1025 to 1150 MHz; receiving is in the range 962 to 1215
MHz; channel spacing is 1 MHz
The interrogator operates in several modes:
• Standby
• Search
• Track
• Scan
• Memory
• Fault
• Self-test
 DME Indicator

DME enables aircraft to establish its range to the ground station:

Distance in nautical miles, Ground speed in knots, Flying time to
the station in minutes
DME
 DME Operation

• The aircraft sends out a pulsed signal to the

station (Interrogation).
• The ground station receives the series of
pulsed pairs.
• 100 closest aircraft will receive a good signal.
• “Jitter” makes each interrogation unique to
each aircraft, station replies in kind
 DME Operation

• After a precise time delay of 50ms, the ground

station replies with an identical sequence of
reply pulse pairs.
• Aircraft receives the reply and measures the
elapsed time from when it sent the
interrogation.
• Subtracts the 50ms delay
• Calculates its exact distance from the ground
station by distance = velocity × time
 DME Operation

• DME provides distance (slant range) from the aircraft to the

ground DME.
• DME operates on Ultra High Frequency (UHF) which is
between 962 to 1213 MHz.
• DME works based on pulse techniques, where pulse means a
single vibration of electric current.
• The aircraft’s antenna sends out paired pulses at specific
spacing.
• The ground DME station receives the pulses and then
responds with paired pulses at the same spacing but a different
frequency.
 DME Operation

• The aircraft receiver measures the time taken to transmit and

receive the signal which is transmitted into distance.
• Beside that, the distance formula is also used by the DME
receiver to calculate the distance from DME station in
Nautical Miles.
DME
 Advantages of DME

• DME is extremely accurate: Provide continuous and

accurate indication of the slant range distance.
• Aircraft Handling Capability: The transponder
equipment should be capable of handling 100 to 200
aircrafts.
• Large coverage: DME facility provides coverage up to
200 NM.
 Disadvantages of DME

As VOR the DME is also restricted to line-of-sight transmission.

For example, the aircraft at altitude below 10’000 ft is unable to
detect the DME signal.

Uses of DME:
• DME provides the physical distance from the aircraft to the
ground DME transponder expressed in Nautical Miles (NM).
• DME also calculates ground speed and the time needed to
reach the station if the aircraft is fitted with appropriate
computer.
 VOR : VHF Omnidirectional Range

• VOR, short for VHF Omni-directional Range, is a type of

radio navigation system for aircraft.
• VOR navigation system is one of the most significant aviation
invention.
• With it, a pilot can simply, accurately, and without ambiguity
navigate from Point A to Point B.
• As opposed to the NDB, which transmits a non-directional
signal, the signal transmitted by the VOR contains directional
information.
• VOR provide MAGNETIC BEARING information to and
from the station.
• “Omni-” means all and an Omni-directional range means VOR
station transmits signal in all directions.
 VOR : VHF Omnidirectional Range

Signal Transmission
• “Omni-” means all and an
Omni-directional range
means VOR station
transmits signal in all
directions.
 VOR : VHF Omnidirectional Range

VOR Equipments
• VOR equipments can be divided into three equipments:
Aerial / Antenna
Receiver
Indicator
• As for aircraft, VOR consist of VOR antenna, at vertical tail
and VOR receiver and indicator inside cockpit.
• As for ground station (also known as VOR beacon) consist of
antenna (transmitter and receiver).
VOR : VHF Omnidirectional Range
VOR Equipment
VOR Equipment
VOR : VHF Omnidirectional Range
VOR : VHF Omnidirectional Range
 VOR : VHF Omnidirectional Range

• The VOR ground antenna is oriented to magnetic north.

Consists of :
• Single Stationary Antenna at the centre
• Rotating antennas
• It produces 360° radials/tracks at 1° spacing.
• These 360 bearings are known as RADIALS
• VOR ground installations are strategically located along air
routes and airport to ensure continuity of guidance.
VOR : VHF Omnidirectional Range
 How VOR works?

• VOR receiver in the cockpit is tuning to the specific

frequencies assigned for that VOR’s airport.
• It is VHF frequency which is between 108-117.95 MHz.
• After entering the frequency, the volume control should be
turned up in order to confirm that the three letter identification
code (Morse Code) is correct.
• For example, KLIA airport has a VOR known as VKL-Victor
Kilo Lima.
• The VOR station on the ground transmits two signals at the
same time; one signal is constant in all directions, while the
other signal is rotated about a point.
 How VOR works?

• One from stationary antenna, while the other from rotating

antenna.
• When aircraft receives these two signals, an aircraft VOR
receiver electronically measures the phase angle different
between these two signals.
• This phase angle different is translated as the MAGNETIC
BEARING which tell the pilot the aircraft angle direction to
the VOR station.
• This bearing angle also known as RADIALS.
VOR
VOR Indicator Display
 VOR Indicator Display

A Display
A Rotating Course Card, calibrated from 0 to 360°, which
indicates the VOR bearing chosen as the reference to fly TO or
FROM. Here, the 345° radial has been set into the display. This
VOR gauge also digitally displays the VOR bearing, which
simplifies setting the desired navigation track
B Display
The Omni Bearing Selector, or OBS knob, used to manually
rotate the course card.
 VOR Indicator Display

C Display
The CDI, or Course Deviation Indicator. This needle swings left or right
indicating the direction to turn to return to course. When the needle is to the
left, turn left and when the needle is to the right, turn right, When centered,
the aircraft is on course. Each dot in the arc under the needle represents a
2° deviation from the desired course.
D Display
The TO-FROM indicator. This arrow will point up, or towards the nose of
the aircraft, when flying TO the VOR station. The arrow reverses direction,
points downward, when flying away FROM the VOR station. A red flag
replaces these TO-FROM arrows when the VOR is beyond reception range,
has not been properly tuned in, or the VOR receiver is turned off. Similarly,
the flag appears if the VOR station itself is inoperative, or down for
maintenance.
 Advantages of VOR

More accurate & precise flying:

• The accuracy of course alignment of the VOR is excellent,
being generally plus or minus 1 degree.
Reliable:
• Can be used day and night.
Multiple number of route :
• Provide multiple number of route ‘towards’ or away from each
station.
• These routes are like invisible highways , which the pilot can
navigate to @ away from any location.
 Disadvantages of VOR

• Signals cannot be received at low altitudes (below 1000ft)

• VORs are sensitive to the interference of terrain. The nearest
mountains and buildings cause the VOR bearings to be
stopped and interrupted.
• Other disadvantages is VOR equipment are costly to maintain.
 LORAN

• LORAN, short for long range navigation, was a hyperbolic

radio navigation system developed in the United States during
World War II.
• It provides navigation for a long distance.
• VORTAC is good for 100 NM or so and the NDB between 10
and 50 NM.
• Not all air routes fly over populated areas. There are routes
over the north pole and vast remote areas.
• Trans-oceanic routes have no ground-based VOR navigation.
• When flying over areas with no ground based navigation,
separation has been as wide as 60 NM.
 LORAN

• The original LORAN system survived more than 20 years.

• An improved system called LORAN-C was used to cover the
east coast of the U.S. The original LORAN was renamed
LORAN-A.
• There was a LORAN-B system but it was a modification of
the original LORAN system for special applications.
• LORAN-C is based on a group of transmitters that are time
synchronized.
• The original LORAN system synchronized a group by
designating one transmitter as the master.
 LORAN

• The other stations, called auxiliary transmitters did not transmit

until they received the master's signal.
• An additional time delay from when the signal from the master
was received at the auxiliary and when that auxiliary
transmitted was called the coding delay.
• Coding delay was generated by actually receiving the signal
from the master and triggering a timer which controlled the
transmission from the slave transmitter.
• This concept of coding delay is not applicable to the modem
LORAN-C system.
• One improvement in LORAN-C is to synchronize the group of
transmitters with an extremely accurate atomic clock.
 LORAN

• Therefore, variations of propagation time from the master to

the auxiliary would not reduce system accuracy.
• Navigating on a hyperbolic system measures the time
difference, TD, between the receipt of one transmitter relative
to another.
• To understand hyperbolic navigation. consider two
transmitters that are time synchronized as shown in Figure.
• For this discussion, when t=0 the transmitter M emits a pulse.
This energy radiates from the transmitter in increasing circles.
At a time t =ΔC(M,X), the X transmitter transmits a pulse.
LORAN

Loran chain for Northeast

U.S. The master station,
M, is in New York state.
Auxiliary stations are at
W (Maine) , X
(Nantucket) , Y (Carolina
Beach} and Z (llinois}.
The three star symbols
{between M and Z, and
W and Y are monitoring
stations
LORAN
 LORAN

A receiver capable of receiving transmissions from M and X pick

up the pulse from M before the pulse from X. Assume the
distance from the receiver to M is RM and RX is the distance from
the receiver to the X transmitter. Velocity of the waves is V. The
times involved in transmission and reception of the pulses from
M and X are:
Time M transmits t=O
Time X transmits t = ΔC(M,X)
Time M is received t =RM/V
Time X is received t = (RX/V) + (ΔC(M,X))
 LORAN

• Relative to LORAN-C. the transmitter referred to as M, the

first to transmit, is called the master.
• X and Y transmitters are called auxiliary, or slave,
transmitters. Together they form a chain.
• All LORAN-C transmissions use the same modulation and a
carrier frequency of 100 kHz.
• The master station transmits at a well-defined repetition rate.
• The auxiliaries are timed so the master pulse is received first
followed by the X auxiliary, the Y and the Z.
• If a W auxiliary is used, it is received before the X auxiliary.
 LORAN

• Since all transmitters in a LORAN-C chain are synchronized.

and the master operates at a regular rate.
• All transmitters, master and auxiliary, transmit at the same rate
called the group repetition rate or GRI.
• There are 40 possible repetition rates and no two LORAN C
chains share the same rate.
• Every timing parameter of the LORAN C system is controlled
by extremely accurate clocks.
• This includes carrier frequency. time of transmissions of the
master and all auxiliary transmitters.
 LORAN

• For hyperbolic navigation, three LORAN transmitters must be

received. Therefore, the minimum number of transmitters in a
chain is three, a master and two auxiliary stations.
• Chain consists of a master, M and three auxiliaries, X. Y, and z.
It is also common to add a fourth slave called W.
• The separation between transmitters is between 150 and 250
NM, making coverage more than 1000 NM across. The areas
have irregular shapes, which is a function of the geometry of
the stations.
 LORAN

• The master transmission is shown in Fig. The eight pulses are

the 27-cycle group previously described. There are eight
pulses separated by l ms. The ninth pulse shown is seldom
used but was originally used to designate the master
transmission.
 LORAN

• Shifting the phase of the carrier between pulses further

uniquely identifies LORAN-C transmissions and reduces
interference from long delays due to multiple skywave
reflections. For every other transmission, each pulse in the
master pulse is:
00ππ0π0π
where 0 represents an in-phase signal and π represents a signal
out of phase with the reference.
LORAN
 DECCA (DNS)

• The Decca Navigator System was a hyperbolic radio

navigation system which allowed ships and aircraft to
determine their position by receiving radio signals from fixed
navigational beacons.
• The system used phase comparison of two low
frequency signals between 70 and 129 kHz, as opposed to
pulse timing systems like LORAN.
 DECCA (DNS)

Principle:
The phase difference between the signals received between the
signals received from station A(master) & B (slave) is constant
along each hyperbolic curve. The foci of the hyperbola are at the
transmitting station A & B
 DECCA (DNS)

Operation:
DECCA navigation system consisted of anumber
of land based radio beacons organised into
chains.
Each chain consist of a master station and three
(occasionally two) secondary stations, termed
red, green and purple.
DECCA (DNS)
 DECCA

• The system was invented by U.S.

• It was first deployed by the Royal Navy during World War II for the vital
task of clearing the minefields to enable the D-Day landings. The Allied
forces needed an accurate system not known to the Germans and thus
free of jamming.
• At its peak there were about 180 transmitting stations using "chains" of
three or four transmitters each to allow position fixing by plotting
intersecting electronic lines.
• Decca's primary use was for ship navigation in coastal waters, offering
much better accuracy than the competing LORAN system. Fishing
vessels were major post-war users, but it was also used on some aircraft,
including a very early (1949) application of moving map displays. The
system was deployed extensively in the North Sea and was used by
helicopters operating to oil platforms.
DECCA
DECCA
DECCA
DECCA
DECCA
 DECCA

• The Decca Navigator System consisted of individual groups land-based

radio transmitters organised into chains of three or four stations. Each
chain consisted of a master station and three (occasionally two)
secondary stations, termed Red, Green and Purple. Ideally, the
secondaries would be positioned at the vertices of an equilateral triangle
with the master at the centre. The baseline length, that is, the master-
secondary distance, was typically 60–120 nautical miles (110–220 km).
• Each station transmitted a continuous wave signal that, by comparing the
phase difference of the signals from the master and one of the
secondaries, produced a relative phase measure that was presented on a
clock-like display. The phase difference was caused by the relative
distance between the stations as seen by the receiver. As the receiver
moves these distances change and those changes are represented by the
movement of the hands on the displays.
 DECCA

• If one selects a particular phase difference, say 30 degrees, and

plots all the locations where that phase difference occurs, the
result is a set of hyperbolic lines of position called a pattern. As
there were three secondaries there were three patterns, also termed
Red, Green and Purple. The patterns were drawn on nautical
charts as a set of hyperbolic lines in the appropriate colour.
• Receivers determined their location by measuring the phase
difference from two or more of the patterns from the displays.
They could then look at the chart to find where the two closest
charted hyperbolas crossed. The accuracy of this measurement
was improved by choosing the set of two patterns that resulted in
the lines crossing at as close to a right angle as possible.
 DECCA

Range and Accuracy

During daylight, ranges of around 400 nautical miles (740 km)
could be obtained, reducing at night to 200 to 250 nautical miles
(460 km), depending on propagation conditions.
The accuracy depended on:
• Width of the lanes
• Angle of cut of the hyperbolic lines of position
• Instrumental errors
• Propagation errors (for example, Skywave)
 OMEGA

• OMEGA – Optimized Method for Estimated Guidance

Accuracy
• OMEGA was the first global-range radio navigation system,
operated by the United States in cooperation with six partner
nations.
• It was a hyperbolic navigation system, enabling ships and
aircraft to determine their position by receiving very low
frequency (VLF) radio signals in the range 10 to 14 kHz,
transmitted by a global network of eight fixed terrestrial
radio beacons, using a navigation receiver unit.
• It became operational around 1971 and was shut down in
1997 in favour of the Global Positioning System.
 OMEGA

• Omega was a very long-range Very Low Frequency

(VLF) navigation system and the first navigation
system providing true global coverage. The system worked by
generating hyperbolic lines of position (LOP) by means of
phase difference measurements of VLF time-shared
transmissions emitted by widely spaced antennae.
• Omega evolved into a system used primarily by the civil
community. By receiving signals from three stations, an
Omega receiver could locate a position to within 4 nautical
miles (7.4 km) using the principle of phase comparison of
signals.
 ILS

• ILS is stand for Instrument Landing System.

• It has been existence for over 60 years.
• But today, it is still the most accurate approach and landing aid that is used by the
airliners.
• The first scheduled passenger airliner to land using ILS was in 1938.
 ILS

• To guide the pilot during the approach and landing.

• It is very helpful when visibility is limited and the pilot cannot see the airport and
runway.
• To provide an aircraft with a precision final approach.
• To help the aircraft to a runway touchdown point.
• To provide an aircraft guidance to the runway both in the horizontal and vertical
planes.
• To increase safety and situational awareness.
ILS
 ILS

Non-Instrument
Runway (NI)

Precisio
n
runway
(P)
Aiming
point
Touch
Down
Zone
Threshol
d

Non-Precision
runway (NP)
 ILS

Types of runway approach:

1. Non-Instrument Runway (NI)
A runway intended for the operation of aircraft using visual
approach procedure
2. Instrument Runway
A runway intended for the operation of aircraft using instrument
approach procedures
a)Non-Precision Runway (NP)
An instrument runway served by visual aids and a non-visual aid
providing at least lateral guidance adequate for a straight-in approach
b)Precision Runway (P)
Allow operations with a decision height and visibility
corresponding to Category 1, or II, or III
 ILS

Precision Runway (P) Categories

• Runway Threshold: Beginning of runway for landing.

• Touchdown zone: The first point for the aircraft should touch the runway during
landing.
• Aiming point: serves as a visual aiming point for a landing aircraft.
 ILS Components

• ILS consists of Ground Installations and Airborne Equipment

• There are 3 equipment for Ground Installations, which are:
1. Ground Localizer (LLZ) Antenna – To provide horizontal navigation
2. Ground Glide path (GP) Antenna – To provide vertical navigation
3. Marker Beacons – To enable the pilot cross check the aircraft’s height.
• There are 2 equipment for Airborne Equipment, which are:
1. LLZ and GP antennas located on the aircraft nose.
2. ILS indicator inside the cockpit
ILS Components
ILS
 How ILS works?

• Ground localizer antenna transmit VHF signal in direction

opposite of runway to horizontally guide aircraft to the runway
centre line.
• Ground Glide Path antenna transmit UHF signal in vertical
direction to vertically guide aircraft to the touchdown point.
• Localizer and Glide Path antenna located at aircraft nose
receives both signals and sends it to ILS indicator in the cockpit.
• These signals activate the vertical and horizontal needles inside
the ILS indicator to tell the pilot either go left/right or go
up/down.
• By keeping both needles centered, the pilot can guide his aircraft
down to end of landing runway aligned with the runway center
line and aiming the touch down.
 Localizer

• Localizer is the horizontal antenna array located at the opposite end of the runway.
• Localizer operates in VHF band between 108 to 111.975 MHz
 How Localizer Works?

• Localizer transmit two signals which overlap at the centre.

• The left side has a 90 Hz modulation and the right has a 150 Hz modulation.
• The overlap area provides the on-track signal.
• For example, if an aircraft approaching the runway centre line from the right, it will
receive more of the 150 Hz modulation than 90Hz modulation.
• Difference in Depth of Modulation will energizes the vertical needle of ILS
indicator.
• Thus, aircraft will be given the direction to GO LEFT.
How Localizer Works?
 Localizer

Needle indicates direction of runway.

 Glide Path Antenna Array

• Glide Path is the vertical antenna located on one side of the runway about 300 m to
the end of runway.
• Glide Path operates in UHF band between 329.15 and 335 MHz
 How Glide Path Works?

• Glide path produces two signals in the vertical plane.

• The upper has a 90 Hz modulation and the bottom has a 150 Hz modulation.
• For example, if an aircraft approaching the runway too high, it will receive more of
the 90 Hz modulation than 150Hz modulation.
• Difference in Depth of Modulation will energizes the horizontal needle of ILS
indicator.
• Thus, aircraft will be given the direction to GO DOWN.
How Glide Path Works?
Glide Path

Needle indicates above/below glide path.

 Marker Beacons

• Marker beacons operating at a carrier frequency of 75 MHz are provided.

• When the transmission from a marker beacon is received it activates an indicator
on the pilot's instrument panel.
• The correct height the aircraft should be at when the signal is received in an
aircraft.
 Marker Beacons

Outer marker
• The outer marker should be located about 7.2 km from the threshold.
• The modulation is repeated Morse-style dashes of a 400 Hz tone.
• The cockpit indicator is a blue lamp that flashes accordingly with the received
audio code.
• The purpose of this beacon is to provide height, distance and equipment
functioning checks to aircraft on intermediate and final approach.
 Marker Beacons

Middle marker
• The middle marker should be located so as to indicate, in low visibility conditions.
• Ideally at a distance of 1050m from the threshold.
• The cockpit indicator is an amber lamp that flashes in accordingly with the
received audio code.
 Marker Beacons

Inner marker
• The inner marker, shall be located so as to indicate in low visibility conditions.
• This is typically the position of an aircraft on the ILS as it reaches Category II
minima.
• The cockpit indicator is a white lamp that flashes in accordingly with the received
audio code.
 ILS Categories

There are three categories of ILS the operation.

• Category I - A precision instrument approach and landing with a decision height not
lower than 60 m (200 ft) above touchdown zone elevation and with either a
visibility not less than 800 m or a runway visual range not less than 550 m.
• An aircraft equipped with an Enhanced Flight Vision System may, under certain
circumstances, continue an approach to CAT II minimums.
• Category II - Category II operation: A precision instrument approach and landing
with a decision height lower than 60 m (200 ft) above touchdown zone elevation
but not lower than 30 m (100 ft), and a runway visual range not less than 350 m.
 ILS Categories

Category III is further subdivided

• Category III A - A precision instrument approach and landing with:
a) A decision height lower than 30 m (100 ft) above touchdown zone
elevation, or no decision height; and
b) A runway visual range not less than 200 m.
• Category III B - A precision instrument approach and landing with:
a) A decision height lower than 15 m (50 ft) above touchdown zone
elevation, or no decision height; and
b) A runway visual range less than 200 m but not less than 50 m.
• Category III C - A precision instrument approach and landing with no decision height and
no runway visual range limitations. A Category III C system is capable of using an aircraft's
autopilot to land the aircraft and can also provide guidance along the runway.
 Advantages of ILS

The most accurate approach and landing aid that is used by the airliners.
 Disadvantages of ILS

• Interference due to large reflecting objects, other vehicles or moving objects.

• This interference can reduce the strength of the directional signals.
 MLS

INTRODUCTION
• The Microwave Landing System (MLS) was designed to
replace ILS with an advanced precision approach system
that would overcome the disadvantages of ILS and also
provide greater flexibility to its users.
• However, there are few MLS installations in use at present
and they are likely to co-exist with ILS for a long time.
• MLS is a precision approach and landing system that
provides position information and various ground to air data.
• The position information is provided in a wide coverage
sector and is determined by an azimuth angle measurement,
an elevation measurement and a range measurement.
 MLS

ILS has the following disadvantages:

• There are only 40 channels available worldwide.
• The azimuth and glideslope beams are fixed and narrow. As a result, aircraft have
to be sequenced and adequately separated which causes landing delays.
• There are no special procedures available for slower aircraft, helicopters, and Short
Take Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft.
• ILS cannot be sited in hilly areas and it requires large expanses of flat, cleared land
to minimise interference with the localiser and glideslope beams.
 MLS

• Vehicles, taxying aircraft, low-flying aircraft and buildings have to be kept well
away from the transmission sites to minimise localiser and glideslope course
deviations (bending of the beams).
 MLS

The Microwave Landing System (MLS) has the following features:

• There are 200 channels available worldwide.
• The azimuth coverage is at least ± 40° of the runway on-course line and glideslopes
from 0.9° to 20° can be selected. The usable range is 20-30 nm from the MLS site.
• There is no problem with back-course transmissions; a secondary system is
provided to give overshoot and departure guidance ± 20° of runway direction up to
15° in elevation to a range of 10 nm and a height of 10,000 ft.
 MLS

• It operates in the SHF band, 5031 - 5090 MHZ. This enables it to be sited in hilly
areas without having to level the site. Course deviation errors (bending) of the
localiser and glidepath caused by aircraft, vehicles and buildings are no longer a
problem because the MLS scanning beam can be interrupted and therefore avoids
the reflections.
• Because of its increased azimuth and elevation coverage aircraft can choose their
own approaches. This will increase runway utilisation and be beneficial to
helicopters and STOL aircraft.
• The MLS has a built-in DME.
• MLS is compatible with conventional localiser and glidepath instruments,
• EFIS, auto- pilot systems and area navigation equipment.
 MLS

• MLS gives positive automatic landing indications plus definite and continuous
on/off flag indications for the localiser and glideslope needles.
• The identification prefix for the MLS is an ‘M’ followed by two letters.
• The aim is for all MLS equipped aircraft to operate to CAT III criteria.
MLS
MLS
MLS
MLS
MLS
 MLS

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
• MLS employs the principle of Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) whereby only
one frequency is used on a channel but the transmissions from the various angle
and data ground equipment are synchronised to assure interference free operations
on the common radio frequency.
 MLS

Azimuth location
• Time referenced scanning beam (TRSB) is utilised in azimuth and
elevation as follows: the aircraft computes its azimuth position in
relation to the runway centre-line by measuring the time interval in
microseconds between the reception the ‘to’ and ‘fro’ scanning
beams.
• The beam starts the ‘to’ sweep at one extremity of its total scan and
travels at a uniform speed to the other extremity. It then starts its
‘fro’ scan back to its start position.
• The time interval between the reception of the ‘to’ and ‘fro’ pulses is
proportional to the angular position of the aircraft in relation to the
runway on-course line.
• The pilot can choose to fly the runway on-course line (QDM) or an
approach path which he selects as a pre-determined number of
degrees ± the runway direction.
 MLS

Glideslope location
• Another beam scans up and down at a uniform speed within its elevation limits.
• The aircraft’s position in relation to its selected glideslope angle is thus calculated
in the same manner by measuring the time difference between the reception of the
pulses from the up and down sweep.
• The transmissions from the two beams and the transmissions from the other
components of the MLS system are transmitted at different intervals i.e. it uses ‘
time multiplexing’.
 MLS

Other components of the system are:

• Flare. Although the standard has been developed to provide for flare
elevation, this function is not intended for future implementation
• Back azimuth. Gives overshoot and departure guidance ± 20° of runway
direction up to 15° in elevation.
• DME Range along the MLS course is provided not by markers but by a
DME. For Cat II and III approaches a precision DME (DME/P) that is
accurate to within 100 feet must be available.
Transmission of auxillary data. This consists of:
• station identification
• system condition
• runway condition
• weather information
MLS
Possible questions
Tell us the frequency bands do the localizer and glide slope
use.
State the basic principles of hyperbolic radio navigation.
List the advantages and disadvantages of ILS.
Define marker beacons.
Define ADF.
List the various ILS airborne equipment.
Tell us the range, altitude and frequency band of MLS can
operate.
Tell us where are the localizer and glide slope antennas
Located?
List various modes in which a DME interrogator can
operate.
How does the MLS provide range to the runway?
Discuss in detail about Instrument landing system and its
components.
Explain the operation of inertial navigation system and
explain its two types of construction.
Illustrate the working of microwave landing systems and
its advantages over ILS.
Explain the working of Distance Measuring Equipment in
detail.
Explain the working principle of LORAN with neat
sketch.
Explain Inertial Navigation system with neat block
diagram.
Explain the working principle of GPS.