11w FligInst PDF

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE
AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS LECTURE NOTES, VERSION 2004

Chapter 11 Flight instruments and navigation systems
Chapter 11
Flight instruments and navigation systems
These lecture notes are available for the students of the Polytechnic of Milan for free download.
No commercialisation allowed.
Queste dispense possono essere gratuitamente scaricate da Internet dagli studenti del Politecnico di Milano.
E vietata la commercializzazione.
11.1

11.1 Introduction
An aircraft has a number of navigation instruments depending on its category,
ranging from the few basic elements of a glider to the sophisticated and complex
systems of modern airliners and combat aircraft. The number of instruments and
avionic systems has also increased in the decades: the first experimental airplanes
had no instruments at all; the first instrument to be introduced was the magnetic
compass, when flight became something more than an experiment; then fuel level
and few engine indications were introduced, followed by altimeter, airspeed
indicators and, later on, systems aimed to assist pilot in long flights, low visibility
operations, position evaluation etc.
Almost all the instruments are collected in cabin panels, clearly visible by the crew
and rationally grouped. A complete differentiation between flight instruments and
avionic systems is becoming hard, since nowadays they are often linked together.
Following the traditional definitions, the flight instruments described in this chapter
are as follows:
magnetic compass;
altimeter;
airspeed indicator;
vertical speed indicator;
attitude gyro;
turn rate gyro;
directional gyro;
gyrocompass;
and the avionic systems as follows:
radar;
ADF;
VOR/DME;
hyperbolic navigation systems;
GPS;
instrumental landing systems;
Doppler navigation systems;
inertial systems.
11.2 Magnetic Compass

The magnetic compass is one of the oldest instruments that man uses for travelling.
Based on the fact that a reasonably constant magnetic field is generated in the Earth
atmosphere, a magnetic needle can easily indicate
the direction of the flux lines. When the needle is
mounted on a graduated rose and this is sighted by
an index line fixed on the vehicle, the orientation of
the vehicle with respect of the magnetic field is
indicated, as shown in fig. 11.1.
Fig. 11.1 Magnetic compass
The first drawback is due to the direction of the

magnetic flux lines at high latitudes, i.e. near the
magnetic poles. In fact in these regions the lines are
no more parallel to the Earth surface because they
tend to bend and converge into the pole. A simple
11.2

compass made of a needle and rose suspended on its centre of gravity would follow
completely the flux line and become unreadable at high latitudes. This error is called
dip and can be easily compensated by suspending the needle equipment above its
centre of gravity, as schematically shown in fig. 11.2
and as was actually drawn in fig. 11.1.
NOT CORRECTED
This compensation generates another error: every
time the aircraft is in manoeuvre, the inertia forces
bring the compass equipment to swing. This error
FLUX LINES
cannot be erased, but limited if the equipment is
CORRECTED
immersed in a liquid, that usually is an oil-alcohol
mixture.
Fig. 11.2 Dip error correction
Declination error is another important characteristic of

the magnetic compass; this is due to the fact that the
Earth magnetic axis is not coincident with the Earth geographic axis and that the flux
lines are disturbed by the mineral components in the subsurface. This error can be
only compensated by knowing the declination in the actual flight area, which is
reported on the flight maps together with its annual variation.
Finally a similar disturbance, called deviation, is generated by the metallic and
electric components on board. This error, that changes with aircraft heading, is
periodically evaluated at ground with use of ground sights and can be reduced by
mounting compensating magnets in the compass housing. The residual deviation is
reported in a compass compensation table as a function of heading.
Modern systems are based on magnetic compass and gyroscope, and will be
described after the gyroscope sections.
11.3 Altimeter
ALTITUDE [ft]
The classic measure of altitude is derived from the measure of external static
pressure. Pressure is a function of altitude as indicated by the plot in fig. 11.3; the
curve can easily be obtained by the following
considerations. Lets consider an air particle of
40000
density and height dz, subject to the gravity g
35000
and pressure p and p+dp respectively on the lower
30000
and upper surface; if one writes the equation of
25000
equilibrium along the vertical directions, easily the
20000
following result is obtained:
15000
dp = g dz .
10000
5000
00
00
12
10
80
60
40
20
The air is an ideal gas, then being described by

the well-known law:
PRESSURE [mb]
Fig. 11.3 Pressure vs. altitude
p = R T ,
where R is the thermodynamic constant of ideal gases of 287 m2/s2K and T the
temperature.
The temperature of steady air is experimentally found to decrease with altitude
according to a gradient a of 6.5 C/km:
11.3

dT = a dz .
By combining the three laws, one can quickly obtain a differential equation that links
pressure and altitude and, integrated from ground level to a generic altitude z, is as
follows:
p az
= 1
p 0
T0
R a
where p0 and T0 are, of course, the ground values of pressure and temperature
respectively. This law shows that altitude can be evaluated from a measure of
pressure, provided that reference values of ground pressure and temperature are
set.
The altimeter is then an instrument that measure pressure, then converting it to an
altitude indication. In its basic construction,
it is schematically shown in fig. 11.4. The
static pressure, coming from a pitot-static
probe, is brought inside a chamber where
an aneroid (vacuum) capsule is fixed, made
of two corrugated plates sealed together.
Depending on the pressure, the capsule will
STATIC PRESS
expand or shrink. This movement is picked
Fig. 11.4 - Altimeter
up at the centre of the non-constrained
capsule plate, where it is more intense; then it is amplified and converted into an
altitude reading by means of mechanical links. Modern altimeters have an electric
pick-up and conversion to altitude signal. Normally more capsules are linked in
series, to get a larger deformation.
The reference pressure p0 is set with a knob near the display. The temperature T0 is
set by the manufacturer at the standard value of 288 K. This means that the altimeter
will be practically always in error. The reason why this systematic error is not
dangerous is in the way the reference pressure is set. Three settings are used, called
QNE and QNH and QFE.
The QNE requires a 1013 mb pressure set and is used at cruising stage or anyway at
high altitude, with good clearance from any ground obstacle; if all the airplanes have
the same pressure setting and are assigned to different flight levels, they simply
cannot conflict.
The QNH is used during take-off, landing and any low altitude operation; in this case
the equivalent local sea level pressure is set, in such a way that the altimeter, when
the aircraft is at ground, will indicate the local real altitude from sea level.
In the QFE mode, the altimeter is set to the ground pressure and then will indicate
null altitude when at ground.
In other words the indicated altitude for QFE and QNH is correct at ground only;
nevertheless for low flight operation the pilot can request the QNH altitudes of
relevant surrounding obstacles (mountains, towers, antennas), being then able to
perform a safe flight.
11.4 Airspeed indicator

The total pressure in a stagnation point of a fluid flow of density , pressure p and
velocity v in non-compressible conditions is given by:
11.4

pT = p +
1 2
v ,
2
meaning that one can measure the velocity of the flow by knowing total and static
pressure. An airspeed indicator can be based on this principle, taking pressure
signals from a pitot tube and being mechanically sensitive to the differential pressure,
as schematically indicated in fig. 11.5.
In compressible conditions the law is more
complex but still shows the possibility of
getting the airspeed from the static and total
pressures. Moreover at high speeds the
Mach number becomes important for the
TOTAL PRESS
critic aerodynamic loads of the airplane.
STATIC PRESS
Mach number is given by airspeed and
speed of sound, the latter being function of
Fig. 11.5 Airspeed indicator
pressure and density, and these ones being
functions of altitude. As a matter of fact a mach meter is an instruments that reads
airspeed and altitude with two separated capsules, then combining the signals.
A more complete speed instrument is finally the mach/airspeed indicator, which
combines all information on one single display.
The actual airspeed of the vehicle is called true airspeed (TAS) and is not of
immediate measurement because it depends strictly on air density, i.e. pressure and
temperature.
The airspeed directly given by the differential pressure is called indicated airspeed
(IAS). This indication is subject to positioning errors of the pitot and static probes,
airplane attitude and instrument systematic defects.
The airspeed corrected by these errors is called calibrated airspeed (CAS).
Depending on altitude, the critic airspeeds for manoeuvre, flap operation etc change
because the aerodynamic forces are function of air density. An equivalent airspeed
VE (EAS) is defined as follows:
VE = V
,
0
where:
V = true airspeed;
= density;
0 = ground density.
Then EAS indicator performs the important role of showing an airspeed whose critic
values are independent from altitude.
11.5 Rate-of-climb indicator

This instrument shows the vertical speed and is based on a measure of the static
pressure variation. This measure can be obtained by a system made of a case
housing a deformable capsule, like that schematically shown in fig. 11.6. The static
pressure is carried both to the case and the capsule, but a metering unit throttles the
tube to the case. This means that, when the airplane changes altitude and then the
external pressure and density changes, the pressures and densities in the case and
capsule will follow the variation with different transients; in particular the capsule will
restore immediately the static pressure and density when they change, but the case
11.5

will be in delay. During this delay a flow is

generated in the orifice that tends to restore
the static pressure and density.
Then for instance when the airplane climbs,
the external pressure decreases and the
capsule pressure follows this variation; the
differential pressure between the case and
Fig. 11.6 Rate-of-climb indicator
the external pressure generates a flow in the
metering unit that will tend to restore
equilibrium, but in the meanwhile the capsule is subject to a differential pressure and
then shrinks.
A second more sophisticated type of instrument is the instantaneous rate-of-climb
indicator, which makes use of an accelerometer to give immediate indication of the
vertical velocity.
11.6 Gyroscopic instruments

An airplane has a number of gyroscopic instruments for the determination of
orientation and manoeuvre conditions.
A gyroscope is a rigid body with one principal moment
of inertia larger than the other two, in high spin around
its axis of max inertia. Mechanically this is well
represented by a disc rotor, with most of the mass
y
distributed far from the axis, as shown in fig. 11.7. A
x
gyroscope has two fundamental properties, which may
z
be demonstrated with a rather long manipulation of the
mechanical laws of rigid bodies: rigidity and
precession.
Fig. 11.7 - Gyroscope
Rigidity is the resistance of the spin axis to tilting, i.e.
the need of a torque higher than that necessary to tilt a simple rigid body; rigidity has
a mathematical definition, being given by the spin moment of inertia Iz times the spin
velocity z:
H = I z z
Precession is the fact that, when a torque is applied along a direction perpendicular
to the spin axis, the gyroscope will not tilt in the same direction of the torque, but in a
direction perpendicular to it and the spin axis; to be more precise, the gyroscope,
when subject to the torque, will tilt in such a way to tend to align its spin axis with the
torque.
Both the properties are represented by the solutions of the final differential equations
of the three degrees of freedom gyroscope, neglecting the part of the solution that
concerns the nutation, which is an additional oscillation of the spin axis:
x =
My
H ,
M
y = x
H
(eq. 11.1)
where:
x,y = angular velocity around x- and y-axis (see fig. 11.7 for the reference system);
Mx,y = torque around x and y-axis.
11.6

Gyro rotors can be operated by airflow from the pneumatic system or by electric
motors.
11.7 Attitude indicator

Also called gyro horizon, artificial horizon and bank-pitch indicator, this is made by a
3-degree-of-freedom gyroscope with spin axis normally aligned with gravity and plays
the important role of showing the bank and pitch angle of the vehicle.
In principle the system is simple: the gyro is suspended by axes passing through its
centre of gravity with very
INTERNAL GIMBAL
low friction bearings; since
no torques are applied to it,
it will tend to keep its spin
axis direction constant,
z
y
meaning that the
EXTERNAL GIMBAL
manoeuvring airplane will
x
rotate around the gyro. If
Fig. 11.8 Gyro horizon
the gyro is aligned with the
horizon and its orientation can be displayed in some way, it will give an indication of
vehicle bank and pitch angles.
As a matter of fact, the way of building up the constraint and display system is slightly
complicated; the system is schematically shown in fig. 11.8 together with a photo of
the display. The gyro rotor is constrained in a case, the internal gimbal, by spin axis
bearings (z-direction); the case is linked to an external gimbal by another couple of
hinge bearings along an axis (y-direction) orthogonal to the spin axis; the external
gimbal is linked to the instrument housing, and then to the aircraft, by a final couple
of hinge bearings that define an axis (x-direction) orthogonal to the previous ones, so
that all the rotational degrees of freedom are obtained. All three axes pass through
the centre of gravity of the rotor. The two gimbals are mechanically linked to a
movable figure depicting a horizon line and a bank pointer, which are sighted through
a fixed display glass with markers.
The typical error that affects a 3 degree-of-freedom gyroscope is drift, that can be of
three types: real, apparent and transport drift.
Real drift is due to construction imperfections that generate torques. Current
technology significantly limits this problem.
Apparent drift is due to Earth rotation: since the gyroscope tends to keep its axis
orientation with respect to a fixed reference system, a gyroscope located somewhere
on the Earth surface will tilt according to a local observer.
Transport wander is due to the fact that a levelled flight is parallel to the Earth
surface, which is not flat, bringing to an effect similar to the apparent precession.
All these errors are compensated by erection systems: pendulum-like devices fixed
on the internal gimbal align with the local (apparent) gravity and activate torque
motors, or air nozzles, that slowly re-align the gyro spin axis. Of course such a
technique if affected by the important error of being sensitive not only to gravity but
also to any inertia acceleration, meaning that it is deceived during any airplane
manoeuvre. To avoid this problem, erection systems are designed to discriminate
drift misalignment from manoeuvre effect, simply based on the fact that drift
progression is much more moderate than manoeuvre effect.
11.7

11.8 Turn indicator

The rate-of-turn indicator is a 2-degree-of-freedom gyroscope, a configuration often
referred to as rate gyro; its spin axis is in the direction of the airplane pitch axis and
its rotation degree of freedom around the yaw direction is suppressed. The system
looks schematically as indicated in fig. 11.9, where the gimbal is linked to the
instrument housing by a couple of
hinge bearings that define an axis
parallel to the airplane roll axis (x).
Following the reference system
indicated, its behaviour may be
y
understood from the second of eq.
x
11.1, i.e. considering that an angular
z
velocity y around the y-axis (yaw)
SPRING
generates a torque Mx around the xaxis (roll). This torque, proportional
Fig. 11.9 Rate-of-turn gyro
to the angular velocity, is
compensated by a spring; the gimbal will have an angle of rotation proportional to the
rate of turn and can be mechanically linked to the pointer of the display.
This instrument also is affected by an error, because the angular velocity is
measured around an axis that is perpendicular to the gimbal; the gimbal is not
levelled with the horizon during a turn, because the airplane has a bank angle and
also because the gimbal is tilted by the gyroscopic effect; as a matter of fact, the gyro
spin direction is such that the gimbal tilting is opposite to airplane rolling: when the
airplane turn to the left, the gimbal precession is to the right and vice versa, but
normally the gimbal will not remain perfectly horizontal. In other words this
instruments gives an approximate measure of the turn rate, being reliable only to
indicate a no-turn condition and the standard 2 minutes turn (3/s).
The turn indicator contains also another instrument, the slip indicator; this is a simple
inclinometer, which is a pendulum system, usually made of a ball in a glass tube,
curved as a circular arc. A liquid in the tube damps the ball movement. Being a
pendulum, it is subject to gravity and inertia accelerations, keeping a neutral position
during straight flight or coordinated turns.
11.9 Directional gyro and gyrocompass

The magnetic compass, for its construction, is sensitive to inertia forces. This means
that a compass is a reliable heading instrument in the long term, but in manoeuvre
conditions it may swing and be hardly readable. To provide a more precise heading
instrument in these conditions, a directional gyro is used. Like the horizontal gyro, it
is a 3-degree-of-freedom system, but with
horizontal axis; due to gyroscopic rigidity, it will
keep its orientation during manoeuvres, but is
affected by drift errors that again can be
compensated by erection devices.
The display of the directional gyro is similar to a
compass display, as shown in fig. 11.10.
In general the indication of the directional gyro is
reliable in the short term (10 to 20 minutes); for
this reason the crew must reset it to the compass
reading during levelled flight conditions, when the
Fig. 11.10 Directional gyro display
compass is reliable, and most of all before starting
11.8

a manoeuvre.
More modern systems have a gyrocompass, or a directional gyro connected or
slaved to a remote compass, that cancel the long-term drift automatically. In these
systems the compass is typically an electronic compass, or flux valve, made of a
series of coils that sense the direction of the magnetic field, located near the wing
tips in order to minimise the disturbances from magnetic and electric fields.
11.10 Non mechanical gyroscopes

As seen in the previous paragraphs, the gyro rotors are suspended by a system of
hinges and gimbals that allow building up 2- or 3-degree-of-freedom gyroscopes,
depending on the fact they must measure angles or angular velocities.
A fundamental requirement of the hinges is the very low friction, in order to generate
low perturbation to the gyro sensing. This is obtained by using precise ball bearings,
but nevertheless the mechanical properties of gyroscopic instruments are quickly
deteriorated and require intensive maintenance, in particular the air gyros because
the small solid particles that are in suspension in the air tend to clog the
mechanisms.
For this reason the newest generation of gyroscopes is based on solid-state inertial
systems. The most common solutions are the ring laser gyros and micro-electromechanical silicon sensors.
In the first case a laser beam is split into two beams that are conveyed by optical
fibres into two identical circular paths, but with opposite directions. At the end of the
paths the beams are compared in phase; if there is an angular velocity of the system
around the laser ring, the two beams will be in a phase displacement proportional to
the velocity (Sagnac effect).
In the second case an oscillating silicon structure, when subject to an angular
rotation perpendicular to the oscillating velocity, generates a Coriolis acceleration,
which is proportional to the angular velocity; this acceleration is measured and
converted into the angular velocity indication.
11.11 Avionics: radio bands

Avionic instruments make use of radio transmissions. Very roughly speaking, a radio
signal is generated by an electric oscillator, then amplified and emitted by an aerial.
This signal, called carrier, is characterised by its frequency (or wavelength).
Radio frequencies are grouped in bands, as indicated in tab. 11.1.
Band
Very Low Frequency
Low Frequency
Medium Frequency
High Frequency
Very High Frequency
Ultra High Frequency
Super High Frequency
Extremely High Frequency
Designation
Frequency
VLF
3 - 30 kHz
LF
30 - 300 kHz
MF
300 - 3000 kHz
HF
3 -30 MHz
VHF
30 - 300 MHz
UHF
300 - 3000 MHz
SHF
3 30 GHz
EHF
30 - 300 GHz
Tab. 11.1 Radio bands
Wavelength
100 - 10 km
10 - 1 km
1000 - 100 m
100 - 10 m
10 - 1 m
100 - 10 cm
10 - 1 cm
10 - 1 mm
The choice of the frequency depends on the aim of the avionic instrument.
Radiations from the VLF to MF bands are characterised by long ranges because they
are partially transmitted via ground and reflected by the ionosphere, but on the other
hand they are affected by meteorological noise and magnetism phenomena; higher
11.9

frequencies do not suffer significantly from meteorological disturbances and allow

more coherent and narrow beams, thus being also preferred for directional
transmissions, but on the other hand they have optical range and are significantly
absorbed by atmosphere.The carrier wave in itself does not contain any audio
information. This is added with a modulation of the carrier, i.e. by changing its
frequency or amplitude according to the audio signal that must carry; when the
carrier signal is received, it is demodulated and the audio content is split from the
carrier.
11.12 Radar
As anybody knows, the radar is based on the detection of the echo of radio signal
pulses transmitted by the station and reflected
by a target (fig. 11.11). The time lapsed from
pulse transmission to echo sensing is
proportional to the distance from the target,
since the signal travels at the constant speed
of the electromagnetic radiation. This means
that between two consecutive transmissions,
the system must switch to a receiving mode
for a time suitable to allow the signal to come
back.
An oscillator (magnetron) generates the radio
Fig. 11.11 Transmitted and
reflected radio beam
frequency, then modulated and sent to the
aerial; this transmits a high burst of energy in
narrow directed beams, for a short period of time (order of 1 s); the signal intensity
decreases proportionally to the second power of the distance; a considerable amount
of power is absorbed by the atmosphere; limited part of the signal striking the aircraft
is reflected in direction of the transmitter/receiver antenna; this weak reflected signal
received from the radio station is then amplified, detected and filtered.
The used frequencies are considerably high, in the spectrum of UHF and SHF,
allowing for sharp beam widths.
Many kinds of radar are used in aviation: primary and secondary surveillance,
Doppler, altimeter and weather.
Primary radar
The primary radar is a ground based system used for the air traffic control; the
directional antenna rotates at constant speed, then scanning all the 360 of
surrounding region at each rotation; the angular position of the antenna is transduced
together with the measure of target distance; the display (PPI, planned position
indicator) can then indicate the target position in terms of radial and distance with
respect to the radio station.
The order of magnitude of the transmitted power of a long-range surveillance radar is
some Mw, frequency in the UHF band, detection range higher than 250 nm for
aircraft flying at high altitudes.
Secondary radar
The secondary radar completes the task performed by the primary one, with
additional information of altitude and aircraft identification. In fact this device sends a
radio signal by a directional antenna coupled with the primary radar antenna, that
trigger a transponder on the aircraft, interfaced with the altimeter (more precisely with
the central air data computer) and connected to an omni-directional antenna located
11.10

in the airplane belly; the transponder will reply with a coded radio signal including
identification and altitude, and more recently range and bearing. The ground operator
will have the full information visualised on the PPI, allowing coordination of the air
traffic.
Doppler radar
A Doppler radar is able to evaluate the velocity of the target, by measuring the shift
between the frequency of the radiation transmitted and that one of the echo; due to
the Doppler effect the frequency shift is proportional to the velocity.
One possible application of this system is the MTI (Moving Target Indication): only
the shifted frequency echo signals are processed, then discriminating moving target
from stationary objects and erasing these ones on the display.
A second application of this system is the Doppler navigation, mentioned later in this
chapter.
Altimeter
A radar altimeter is able to measure the ground distance by sending a vertical radio
signal to ground and receiving its echo. Due to the size of the target (the earth
surface) and its favourable inclination (orthogonal to the transmission), this type of
radar needs a few w of power; radio band is usually SHF and is used for low altitude
flight (less than 2500 ft).
A second type of radar altimeter works on continuous wave instead of pulses. The
frequency is modulated in alternation (up and down), so that the indication of height
is obtained by the measure of the difference between the transmitted signal and that
of its echo. This allows long-range measures, and is commonly used on satellite as
well as on airplanes.
Weather radar
Moisture and droplets can be visualised by radar operating typically in the SHF band.
The antenna is located in the nose of the aircraft, heading forward and protected by
the radome, a radio-transparent fairing. Normal order of magnitude of power
transmission is 50 kW, allowing for a good detection up to the range of 300 nm.
11.13 ADF
The automatic direction finding system is a short-range navigation system, based on
the determination of the bearing of the aircraft to a ground radio beacon.
The radio beacon transmits a carrier signal in the MF band, then with some
possibility of out-of-sight range; the signal contains a Morse identification of the
beacon. The radio wave is received by a sense (non directional) antenna and a loop
(directional) antenna on the airplane.
Originally the determination of the bearing was manually operated by the crew with a
radio-goniometer, i.e. a radio receiver integrated with compass, sense and loop
antenna; the minimum signal intensity from the loop antenna was obtained when it
was aligned with the radio wave.
Next development of the ADF consisted in an electric motor that automatically
oriented the loop antenna on the basis of its signal intensity with respect of that
received by the sense antenna, and then transducing the orientation of the antenna
structure to the cockpit indicator.
Latest digital generation uses a sense antenna integrated with a loop antenna made
of a rose of coils, with no moving parts.
11.11

ADF is the simplest navigation aid and, even if more sophisticated systems are now
available, it is still in use. Its main and easiest use is to follow the signal to the radio
beacon, which often is in an airport area.
11.14 VOR/DME and TACAN

VOR is the acronym of VHF omni-directional range. It is a short-range navigation
system that, like the ADF, supplies the bearing of the aircraft to a ground radio
beacon. The ground station is made of a group of antennas able of generating two
radio signals: a reference phase signal and a variable phase signal. The difference in
phase between the two signals changes with the radial position around the beacon,
in such a way to represent the radial with respect to the North: for example, a
receiver exactly located East of the beacon will read a phase difference of 90, an so
on. From the practical point of view, it is as if the variable phase signal is a directional
rotating signal and the reference phase signal is emitted every time the directional
one passes through the North (fig. 11.11).
The ground station aerials are usually fixed, so that the variable phase signal is
electronically generated; older versions used a rotating antenna for the variable
phase signal. The airborne system is a receiver where the radio signal is split into
three sub-signals, obtaining one signal for radio beacon identification and two signals
for phase difference evaluation.
A VOR, like an ADF, enable a bearing
evaluation. Two beacons should be at
least necessary to evaluate the position,
but this would require an intensive VOR
distribution on a territory. For this
reason a VOR is usually associated to a
DME, or distance measuring equipment,
that works in the UHF band. The ground
station of a DME is a transponder that is
interrogated by a radio signal
transmitted from the airborne DME
system. This signal is made of pulses
Fig. 11.11 VOR functioning principle
sequenced in a random fashion, within
certain limits. The signal is received by a ground transponder that, after a 50 ms
delay, re-sends the sequence. The airborne receiver reads the signal, easily
discriminated from all those concerning other aircraft and, from the time between
transmission and reception, the distance is measured.
A VOR/DME system is then able to find a polar position with respect to the ground
station, in terms of bearing and distance, and then to fully localise the aircraft.
TACAN, or tactical air navigation system, is still a UHF system for polar localisation,
based on a DME-transponder for distance measurement and on comparison
between an omni-directional reference signal and a rotating directional signal. The
rotating signal is a cardiod pattern revolving at 15 cycles per seconds and, every time
its maximum passes through the East, the reference signal is transmitted. The phase
difference between the two signals depends on aircraft bearing.
VOR and TACAN may also be coupled in a VORTAC system.
11.12

11.15 Hyperbolic navigation systems

Hyperbolic navigation systems were the long-range systems available before the
GPS started its operating life; at present they are considered a back-up system in
case of GPS black out.
The three systems used are, in historical order: Decca, Loran and Omega.
The ground system consists, in all cases, in a series of non-directional radio
beacons; the airborne system consists in a non-directional receiver. The name
hyperbolic is due to the fact that the positioning is based on the determination of the
difference of distance from couples of radio beacons (foci of the hyperbola), as
shown in fig. 11.12.
Decca was developed during the Second World War for ships positioning, then
extended to aircraft and finally discontinued at the end of the 80s. The beacons
transmit synchronised continuous radio signals in the LF band; from the phase
difference it is possible to evaluate the difference of distance between the two ground
stations, then generating one hyperbola. With a third station is possible to define, by
combination with the other two stations, one additional hyperbola, then allowing for
position determination. A Decca Navigator consists actually of 4 beacons, one
master and three slaves, and phase comparison is made between the master and
each slave. Accuracy vary from 100 m for a
receiver close to the radio beacons and
good weather conditions, to several nm
when the receiver is around 400 nm from
the beacons, that is considered the range of
this navigator, because of interference with
the radio waves transmitted through ground
and those reflected by the ionosphere.
Loran (long range navigation) is still a LF
navigation system. The one still in use is the
Loran-C, based on radio pulses
transmission. A master station sends a
pulse series; this is received by a first slave
station that, after a fixed delay, sends
another pulse series. Later a second slave
Fig. 11.12 Hyperbolic navigation principle
station will do the same. The receiver circuit
on the aircraft evaluates the difference of distance with respect to the two masterslave couples from the difference of time when the corresponding signals are
received. The range for an acceptable radio beacon signal is within 1000 nm and
present coverage is guaranteed on Europe, North America and part of Asia; accuracy
varies from 0.1 to 0.25 nm, depending on distance from the beacon and weather
conditions.
The Loran-C is at present the real back-up in case of GPS failure or intentional signal
degradation.
Omega is a global navigation system, fully operating since the early 80s and
terminated in 1997. It is based on a network of 8 non-directional VLF-band radio
beacons and, like Decca, the difference of distance between the receiver and pairs of
beacons is evaluated as phase difference between continuous radio signals.
11.16 GPS
The global positioning system, and in particular the differential GPS, is by far the
most accurate method of positioning. The system is based on the reception of radio
11.13

signals from a constellation of satellites with known positions, whose launches began
in 1978 and that became fully operational in 1995 with two types of signals: one
restricted for US military use (the system is property of the US Ministry of Defence)
and one allowed for civil use, containing an intentional degradation. Since year 2000
the signal degradation is cancelled and the system has levelled the accuracy to all
users.
The 24 satellites, called the space segment, are uniformly grouped in 6 different
orbits in such a way that from any position on the Earth surface at least 4 satellites
are above the horizon. A group of US Air Force ground stations, called the ground
segment, monitors constantly the satellites, generating a prediction of their future
orbit parameters and supplying this information to the satellites themselves. The
receivers are called the user segment.
Any satellite transmits a non directional signal, in the UHF band, that contains
identifier, satellite position and starting time of transmission. The receiver reads the
signal and compute distance from lapsed time. Three distances from known points
enable for positioning, by solving the simple system of equations:
(x x i )2 + ( y y i )2 + (z z i )2 = d i2 = c 2 t i2
i = 1,2,3
where:
x,y,z = position of receiver;
xi,yi,zi = position of i-th satellite;
di = distance of receiver from i-th satellite;
c = speed of electromagnetic radiation;
ti = time lapsed between transmission from i-th satellite and reception.
As a matter of fact, 3 satellites give a poor positioning because ti evaluation contains
an important error. In fact the satellite are equipped with atomic clocks, while the
receiver have a clock with a precision that is not comparable, even if continuously
updated by the satellite. Therefore a timing error te is introduced, that can be
reasonably considered constant for the signals received contemporarily from
satellites. Then with a fourth satellite an additional equation is generated that
increases significantly the fixing accuracy.
Nevertheless, the precision of the GPS is affected by other phenomena that can
hardly be corrected, as follows:
accuracy in the determination of satellite position;
reflection and refraction of the radio signal in the atmosphere, that changes the
beam velocity;
noise;
position of the satellite above the horizon, that may be geometrically non
favourable for a fixing.
All the above-mentioned problems make the overall accuracy of current GPS around
10 m. A significant improvement is obtained by a differential system, or DGPS; this
technique makes use of an additional ground station, of known coordinates and
equipped with a GPS receiver; the station is then able to estimate the local GPS
error, which is considered constant in an area of 100 nm around the station; the
ground station broadcasts this parameter that, when included in the fixing evaluation,
increases accuracy to less than 1 m. A new technique that reduces noise can
increase accuracy to 10-20 cm.
11.14

11.17 Airborne navigation systems

Airborne navigation systems allow positioning with no external aid. They can be a
Doppler or inertial system.
A Doppler system is made of a series of Doppler radars in the SHF band, located on
the airplane belly and transmitting beams to
ground; beam orientations are such that the
velocity vector of the airplane can be computed.
Time integration of the velocity allows the
construction of the trajectory and then estimation
of the current position starting from a previously
evaluated position. A or X configuration is
possible, depending on the fact that the beams
are 3 or 4; in the last case the system is
redundant and more accurate. The signals,
integrated with information from a gyrocompass,
are fed to a computer that evaluate the velocity
components along track, drift and height and
Fig. 11.13 - -Doppler configuration
then performs the integration to determine the
displacement from an initial point, converted to latitude and longitude. Radar
accuracy is within 0.2% of velocity, but the overall system accuracy is significantly
deteriorated by the heading indication signal; a normal accuracy of the Doppler
navigator is 10 nm for a 300 nm flight.
An inertial system is made of a series of gyroscopes and accelerometers. The
present solution is called strap down inertial system: three rate gyros supply angular
velocities around the three aircraft axes and enable to compute the aircraft reference
system orientation starting from a known configuration; three accelerometers supply
accelerations along the aircraft axes, are converted to inertial reference system and
integrated to estimate position, starting from a known point. Accuracy of present
systems is within 0.3 nm/h.
The need of airborne systems on civil aircraft is due to a possible failure, or
intentional black-out or signal degradation, of other direct positioning systems: an
airborne navigator allows a reliable flight tracking for a reasonably long time between
two position updates or between a position update and an approach to airport.
These systems have major interest on military aircraft, that are likely to fly with no
radio aids in combat operations; in this case the inertial system has the advantage of
being a completely self contained system, with no radio emissions that could be
easily detected from other stations.
11.18 Landing radio aids

Radio aids allow safe landing with reduced visibility and are commonly installed in
airports and used by civil and military aircraft enabled for instrumental flight.
The most common technique is the ILS, or instrument landing system, based on an
electronic generation of the approach path to runway. The aircraft instrument is able
to detect the shift from path and the pilot or automatic pilot corrects the trajectory.
The ground system is made of two transmitters with aerials near the runway touch
down point (localiser and glidepath transmitters) and some vertical directional radio
beacons along the approach line.
11.15

The localiser is the lateral guidance and is obtained by generating a VHF directional
carrier signal with a different predominant modulation at the left and right of the
approach path (90 and 150 Hz respectively).
The glidepath is the vertical
guidance and is obtained in the
same way with a UHF
directional signal with different
predominant modulation above
and under the approach path
(90 and 150 Hz respectively).
The glidepath slope is in the
range 3-6. Fig. 11.14 shows
schematically the principle.
Fig. 11.14 ILS localiser and glidepath
When the airplane is in the
path, the receiver will read the
4 modulations with same depths, otherwise there will be an unbalance proportional to
the deviation from the path, which is pictorially shown on a cockpit indicator.
The directional radio beacons, called markers, are 2 or 3 transmitters aligned at
different distances from the runway end: the outer marker around 4 nm, the middle
marker around 0.5 nm and the inner marker around 0.1 nm. They transmit a VHF
signal, vertically directed; when the aircraft passes on the marker area, the receiver
reads the signal and the pilot is informed. Many ILS are equipped with a DME for an
accurate reading of distance from runway.
The ILS are divided into
different categories
depending on their
accuracy, and then
allowing landings in
different weather
conditions; the highest
category allows a zero
visibility landing and no
decision altitude
specified for the pilot,
which is the altitude
where he must decide
whether continuing
landing or execute a
missed approach; this
Fig. 11.15 MLS functioning principle
means also that the
landing can be fully operated by the autopilot, that is also interfaced to the ILS
receiver.
The ILS indicator on board is at full scale when the aircraft is more than 2 off the
path. This means that, in these conditions, the pilot has no information of the
distance from runway alignment path; therefore aircraft coupling to the ILS approach
path must be done fairly in advance before landing. Such procedure, common for
civil aircraft, is too restrictive for military aircraft. The microwave landing system, or
MLS, is a SHF band radio aid able to generate a broader azimuth and elevation
guidance for aircraft with respect to ILS, and moreover is less affected by
disturbances. For this reason MLS is gradually substituting ILS in civil airports.
11.16

In MLS a narrow directional radio beam sweeps across a wide coverage area, both in
azimuth and elevation, at a fixed scan rate. The angular position of the aircraft in that
area can be evaluated by measuring the time lapsed by two consecutive receptions
of the radio beam. The sector covered is in the range of 40-60 to the left and right of
the runway centreline and 15 in elevation, and is reliable up to 20 nm from the
runway end. This allows the pilot to chose a convenient approach path, which can
also be segmented or curved. Moreover back azimuth guidance is provided for
missed approaches and departure navigation.
A PDME (precision distance measuring equipment) is usually integrated in the MLS.
11.17

11w FligInst PDF

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Исходное описание:

Оригинальное название

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

11w FligInst PDF

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS LECTURE NOTES, VERSION 2004

Flight instruments and navigation systems

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

11.2 Magnetic Compass

Fig. 11.1 Magnetic compass

The first drawback is due to the direction of the

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

Declination error is another important characteristic of

The air is an ideal gas, then being described by

Fig. 11.3 Pressure vs. altitude

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

11.4 Airspeed indicator

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

11.5 Rate-of-climb indicator

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

will be in delay. During this delay a flow is

11.6 Gyroscopic instruments

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

11.7 Attitude indicator

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

11.8 Turn indicator

11.9 Directional gyro and gyrocompass

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

11.10 Non mechanical gyroscopes

11.11 Avionics: radio bands

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

frequencies do not suffer significantly from meteorological disturbances and allow

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

11.14 VOR/DME and TACAN

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

11.15 Hyperbolic navigation systems

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

11.17 Airborne navigation systems

11.18 Landing radio aids

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

POLITECNICO DI MILANO - DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA AEROSPAZIALE

Вам также может понравиться