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CHAPTER 5. Navigation
5.1. UNITS AND CONVENTIONS
Distance: Nautical Mile (NM)= 1852m exactly (originally defined as the length subtended by 1 minute of arc at
the equator)
Speed: knot (kt) = 1 nautical mile per hour
Angle: degrees measured clockwise from North and is always expressed as 3 digits.
e.g. 090, 006. Note: zero is pronounced zero
North: In most navigation the North reference is either TRUE (geographic North or the direction of the North Pole)
or MAGNETIC (the direction of the magnetic pole currently near Resolute Bay NWT)
The angular difference between Magnetic and True North at any given point is called the VARIATION
since the Magnetic Pole is constantly moving VARIATION changes from year to year.
Because it is quite difficult to determine True North and it is relatively easy to determine Magnetic North using a
magnetic compass, most continental navigation is done using the Magnetic reference.
Heading: The angle between the longitudinal axis of a vehicle and the North reference (can be either Magnetic or
True)
Relative Bearing: The angle between the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and a line joining the vehicle and the
point in question
True Bearing: The angle between True North and the line joining the vehicle and the point in question.
Magnetic Bearing: Same as True Bearing except that the reference is Magnetic North
Runway Identifiers: Runways are numbered according to their magnetic bearings with the least significant digit
removed.
e.g. the bearing of Ottawa runway 07 is 071(M)
Note: the runways at Toronto were renumbered several years ago because the changing magnetic variation caused
the runway bearing to change from 055 to 056 and thus runway 05 became runway 06.

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TRUE
NORTH

MAGNETIC
NORTH
True
Bearing

Variation

Magnetic
Bearing

Magnetic Heading
True Heading

Relative
Bearing

5.2. LINES OF POSITION AND POSITION FIXES

5.2.1 Lines of Position
Typically a single measurement from a navigational aid provides only one variable to the navigator e.g. a bearing, a distance or a difference in distances. There are therefore many positions which would result in that one
reading. These are called lines of position

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Lines of Position for

Several Distance Measurements

Lines of Position for

Several Bearing Measurements

Lines of Position for

Several Distance Difference Measurements
5.2.2 Position Fix
In order to determine the observers position, at least two lines of position are required. An additional requirement is that the lines of position must cross at a suitable angle (ideally 90 degrees). The condition describing
the quality of the fix due to the angle between the lines of position is called the geometry of the fix. In the diagram below, facilities A and B give poor geometry while A and C give good geometry.

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Note: If the measurements were perfect, geometry would not have any effect except at 0 degrees. However, all
measurements contain errors and the combined effect of errors and geometry are shown below

UNCERTAINTY OF POSITION

UNCERTAINTY OF POSITION

C
Good geometry gives a good overall position fix, however, if one is interested only in one particular dimension
then the criteria for good geometry will change.

e.g. if the navigator in the above example were interested only in the cross track position then
the fix from A and B would be acceptable.
5.3. Requirements for an Air Navigation System:
a) Accuracy
b) Integrity
c) Availability
d) Continuity
Accuracy is almost self explanatory and is usually quantified as the magnitude of the maximum permissible aircraft position error. This error has two major components: the system error and flight technical error. Flight Technical Error (FTE) is the difference between the actual position of the aircraft and the required position according
to the navigation system. This is due to such factors as the pilots skill at following the guidance instruments, the
flight characteristics of the aircraft and turbulence. The flight technical error affects the requirements for the navigation system since there is not much point in reducing the system error to a level significantly less than the FTE.
The total allowable error depends on the phase of flight under consideration.
e. g. for oceanic flight an error of 10 NM might be acceptable but in a busy terminal area the acceptable error might
be 0.2 NM. For landing it is in the order of 3m.

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Integrity is the ability of the system to warn the pilot if it has detected that the position accuracy has degraded
below the acceptable level. The minimum time lapse between the detection of an out of tolerance condition and the
receipt of the warning by the pilot is specified once again according to the phase of flight. In the normal enroute
(cruise) phase it is up to 5 minutesess. In the landing phase it is
Availability is the percentage of time that the navigation system is providing in-tolerance information. This is obviously related to the probability of failure.
Once again the required availability depends on the phase of flight
Continuity is the probability that the required navigation guidance will be available for the duration of the procedure to be started. i.e. that an ILS will be available from the start of an approach to the landing (approx 5 minutes)

5.4. Relative Navigation Systems

As the name implies with these systems the aircraft derives its position relative to a ground station. There is no
requirement to know the position (latitude/longitude) of either the aircraft or the station (or facility as it is usually
called). Normally the aircraft is travelling either to the facility or directly away from it. Thus these facilities are
used to define the endpoints of airway segments. e.g.

YOW (Ottawa)

YSO (Simcoe)
VIE (Coehill)

VQC(Stirling)

LANRK
Intersection

YYZ(Toronto)
Figure 1
The VOR sites making up the airway structure between Ottawa and Toronto

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Examples of relative navigation systems are:

a) NDB (Non-Directional Beacon)
b) VOR (VHF Omnirange)
c) TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation)
d) DME (Distance Measuring Equipment)

5.4.1 NDB/ADF (ARINC Characteristic 712)

The oldest radionavigation aid still in operational use is the NDB or non directional beacon. It should probably
be called an omnidirectional beacon since it radiates its signal approximately equally in all directions. The characteristics of the ground equipment are:
Frequency: 190-1750 kHz (immediately below and including the AM broadcast band)
Power: 20 Watts to several Kilowatts
Modulation: 1020Hz tone + Morse Code Identifier at regular intervals.
Polarization: vertical
The NDB transmitter is all solid state and is reliable and cheap to install. There are about 500 in Canada at the
present time.
The airborne part of this system is the ADF (automatic direction finder). The technique for determining the
relative bearing of the station is called the loop/sense method.

5.4.1.1 The loop/sense antenna technique

As the name suggests, this technique uses a loop antenna, which is directional, and a sense antenna, which
is omnidirectional. The loop antenna is mounted on a servo motor and can be rotated about the vertical
axis. This antenna has a figure of eight pattern and thus has two ambiguous maxima. Fortunately, the

Figure 10:
ADF Loop Antenna Patterns

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signal phase is on one side is the reverse of that on the other and with the thus the addition of the signal
from the omnidirectional sense antenna is added to resolve this ambiguity. With proper matching of levels,
this results in a composite pattern with no ambiguity and a null in one direction. The output of the antennas
(after filtering, amplification and detection) is used to drive the loop antenna servo motor to the null
position. An indicator in the cockpit is slaved to the servo motor and indicates relative bearing to the pilot
This simple approach has some disadvantages. Firstly the antenna is fairly large and is usually housed in a
teardrop-shaped radome. This creates drag and susceptibility to icing.

Figure 11:
ADF Loop Antenna Installation on DC3 Aircraft

5.4.1.2 Crossed Loop Technique

Ferrite is a magnetic material which has the property of concentrating magnetic fields. If it is placed in the
centre of a loop antenna it will increase its sensitivity or, conversely, the antenna can be made much smaller in
area for the same sensitivity. Thus a loop antenna can be made to have a low profile as shown in Figure 12
Antenna Wires

Ferrite Core
Crossed Loops

Figure 12:
Ferrite Antenna and Crossed Loop Configuration

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The output of one antenna is proportional to the sine of the relative bearing () and the other is
proportional to the cosine of the relative bearing. These two amplitudes are measured and used to calculate
. Of course,there is still an ambiguity and this is resolved by using the output of a sense antenna as in the
old syatem. A crossed loop antenna is shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13:
Crossed Loop Antenna Installation

5.4.2 VOR (VHF Omnirange)

The name omnirange comes from the old term range (which actually meant bearing) and the fact that its predecessor the Radio Range produced only four ranges or courses. So the Omnirange is capable of providing
guidance along any bearing. To further confuse the terminology, a track with a given bearing from the VOR is
called a radial e.g. the 065 radial.
Frequency: 108-112 MHz, 0.2MHz spacing e.g. 108.2 108.4
(ILS uses the odd tenths)
112 - 118 MHz, 0.1 MHz spacing

5.4.2.1 Theory
If one were looking at the revolving light from a lighthouse the only available information is the period of
rotation. If, however, the lighthouse were equipped with, say, a red light which is flashed when the main
beam is pointing North (or any other reference bearing), then ones bearing to the lighthouse could be
determined. This is the general principle behind VOR and TACAN.
In the VOR the part of the main lighthouse beam is taken by a limaon-shaped rotating antenna pattern, a
limaon being the figure generated by the equation
r = a + bcos() where a>b
This pattern is rotated at a rate of 30 Hz in a clockwise direction.
Thus an observer at a distance from the antenna would measure the carrier amplitude modulated by a 30
Hz signal. This is called the variable signal since its phase varies according to the relative bearing of the
observer.

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e.g. an observer East of the station would see the maximum 1/4 period later than an observer North of the
station
The reference signal (the red light) is provided by an audio subcarrier (9960Hz) which is frequency
modulated at an amplitude of 480 Hz and a rate of 30 Hz. The reference FM signal is in phase with the
variable signal when the observer is north of the facility. The reference north is magnetic in the south and
true in the far north of Canada.
At any bearing other than north, the variable signal lags the reference signal by a phase difference which is
equal to the bearing from the facility.
i.e. bearing = phaseREF - phaseVAR
In addition to these modulations, a 1020Hz AM Morse code identifier (3 characters) is present.

5.4.2.2 Airborne Receiver

A block diagram of the airborne receiver is shown below

REFERENCE
Tuning
108-118MHz

AM
Detector

10 kHz
Filter

Limiter

Frequency
Discriminator

VARIABLE
30 Hz
Filter
Phase Difference
Detector

Phase
Comparator

30 Hz
Filter

Phase
Shifter
Bearing (synchro or digital)

Course Deviation (DC)

Manual
Control
Figure 14: VOR Receiver Block Diagram

5.4.2.3 Data Format

The pilot receives the VOR information in two forms:
a) An analog indication of the bearing to the facility
b) An indication of the deviation from a selected course. The desired course is selected manually by the
pilot.
These can be displayed on separate instruments (bearing on an RMI and course deviation on a course
deviation indicator (CDI)) or on a multipurpose display called a horizontal situation indicator (HSI)

5.4.2.4 Error Sources and Characteristics

Antenna mismatch or feed:
Causes cyclical errors in bearing around the station.

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Reflections from surroundings

Depending on the type and location of the reflecting surface errors reflections can cause:
a) long period displacement of a radial which an aircraft can follow (called a bend)
b) short period displacements which an aircraft cannot follow (called scalloping)
c) random displacements which an aircraft cannot follow (called roughness)

5.4.2.5 VOR as a Navigation Aid

Accuracy: radial alignment error <3 degrees - maximum amplitude of bend: 3 degrees
Integrity:
Ground:
-monitors are placed around the site to detect drift in the radiated signal, if signal exceeds tolerance, the transmitter shuts down.
Air
if signal level, and or, if either of the modulation levels falls below a preset level an error flag
signal is sent to the HSI or CDI
Availability:
Most sites have dual transmitters so if one fails, the other takes over. Availability is better than
99.9%

5.4.3 DME
DME stands for Distance Measuring Equipment one of the few navigation system names in plain
language.

5.4.3.1 Frequency Band

Airborne - 1025 MHz - 1150 MHz (1 MHz spacing)
Ground - 63 MHz below transmit frequency 1025 -1087 MHz
63 MHz above transmit frequency 1088 - 1150
Note: This scheme gives 126 Channels. However by using pulse pairs of differing spacing (12 and 30s
apart) the number of channels can be doubled. The modes corresponding to the two spacings are called X
and Y respectively.

5.4.3.2 General Principle

DME determines distance by measuring the time between its transmission of a pulse and the reception of
the reply from the ground station.

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The aircraft DME transceiver initiates the process by transmitting a pulse pair (12 or 36s apart depending
on whether mode X or mode Y is being used). The ground transponder receives the pulse pair and, after a
50s delay transmits another pulse pair back to the aircraft. The reason for the 50s delay is to permit
proper operation close to the station

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5.4.3.3 Airborne Equipment

Transmitter
Suppression

Pulse Pair
Generator

Random
Delay

50s
Delay

~ 150 Hz Search
Rate
Clock ~ 30 Hz Track

Search/track

Pulse Width =
Tracking Gate Width (20s)

Diplexer
Gate
Control

Variable
Delay Gate Width/2

Pulse
Stretcher

Delay =
Gate Width/2

Pulse
Stretcher

Delay =
Gate Width/2

Pulse
Stretcher

EARLY
Counter

Delay
Measurement

PROMPT
Counter
LATE
Counter

Pulse
Decoder

Receiver

Decision

Gate
Control

Figure 15.
DME Airborne Transmitter/Receiver
Block Diagram

PULSE
TRANSMIT
TIME

EARLY GATE

VARIABLE DELAY + 50s

ON TIME GATE

LATE GATE

RECEIVED PULSE

Figure 16:
Receiver Gate Timing

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5.4.3.4 Transceiver Operation

In the search mode, the transmitter is generating pulse pairs randomly at an average rate of about 135 per
second. The gate control varies the pulse delay starting from zero and increasing at a rate equivalent to 10
NM/s i.e. The full sweep from 0 to 200 NM takes about 20 seconds.
Since for each transmitted pulse, the gate is open for 20s, and since there is an average of 135 pulses per
second, the gate is open for 20x135 = 2.7 ms/s. The ground station transmits 2700 random pulse pairs per
second so that an average of 2.7 x 10-3 x 2700 = 7 pulse pairs pass through the gate. However, when the
gate gets to the delay which corresponds to the aircraft distance from the ground facility, it receives a pulse
pair for each transmission and thus the rate of detection theoretically increases to 135pp/s. Since the gate is
moving at a rate of about 120s/s the desired reply is in the gate for 20/120 = 1/6 seconds. Thus the
number of pulses detected increases to 135/6 = 22.5. In actual fact some pulses are missed as will be
explained later but in any case there is a sufficiently large difference in rates for the receiver to decide to
switch from search to track mode.
In the track mode, the transmission rate is decreased and the gate is kept centred on the correct range by
the use of early and late detection channels. If the pulses start to fall into the late gate, the delay is
decreased and if they fall into the early gate, the delay is increased. Most DME transceivers keep track of
the rate of change of the range gate and thus can dead reckon through short periods of signal outage.

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5.4.3.5 Suppression
Due to the fact that
a) more than one DME transceiver may be installed on an aircraft (typical installation is two)
b) DME shares the spectrum with ATC transponders (secondary radar)
c) The peak output power can be quite high (1kW)
there is a requirement to protect non-transmitting transceivers from receiver overload. For this reason, all
L-band pulse transceivers are connected together by a suppression coax cable link. When a transceiver is
transmitting, it asserts a signal on the suppression line and all other transceivers respond by desensitizing
their receivers.

5.4.3.6 Measurement
Once the round trip time has been measured, the processor computes the range from the following
expression:
50
D = -------------- c
2

where = round trip time

and c = the speed of light = 162000 NM/s

5.4.3.7 Outputs
The typical DME transceiver ouputs distance, speed (rate of change of distance) and time to go (based on
measured speed). Note that the latter two are valid only when the aircraft is travelling directly towards or
directly away from the station.
Note that the distance measured is slant range distance and must be adjusted to compensate for aircraft
altitude before it can be used for accurate navigation.

5.4.3.8 Ground Station

The ground station simply detects the incoming signal as described above. It inserts the 50s delay and
then retransmits the pulse pair. As a protection against echoes producing false responses, the transponder
inserts about 60s of dead timeafter each interrogation during which it will not respond to another
interrogation.
In addition to replies to incoming pulses the ground station also transmits squitter pulses to make the
total number of pulse pairs per second up to 2700 +/- 90. These squitter pulses are generated by increasing
the sensitivity of the receiver to the point at which input noise generates a sufficient number of pulses to
make up the 2700. If more aircraft start interrogating, the sensitivity is decreased.
This has the following advantages:

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a) The station is automatically maintained in its most sensitive condition

b) The transmitter duty cycle is maintained within safe limits.
c) The airborne receiver AGC has a constant number of pulses to work with. This simplifies design.
d) In case of interrogation by too many aircraft, the nearest aircraft are the last to lose service.
The ground station also transmits an identifier as a 3 character morse code group using a 1350 prf tone.

5.4.3.9 Accuracy
The ICAO specification is 0.5NM or 3% of range whichever is greater, however, extensive tests on
Canadian DME station show that the errors are less than 30 m.
Errors result mainly from variation of the 50s delay and from timing variations. Reflections can cause
errors but good receiver design can virtually eliminate these. Since any reflected signal will have a longer
transmission path than the direct signal, the procedure of searching from 0 range outward usually avoids
reflections. However, for further protection, some receivers periodically do a search sweep to see if they
are actually tracking the direct signal.

5.4.3.10 Integrity
DME Ground stations are equipped with monitors which can detect degradation of transmitter power as
well as errors in the 50s delay. If an out of tolerance condition is detected, the transmitter is shut down.
DME transceivers contain considerable built in test capability and set a flag on the DME indicator if they
detect a fault.

5.4.3.11 Availability
DME ground stations have two transmitters which automatically switch over when a failure is detected.
System Availability is usually above 99%.

5.4.4 TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation System)

5.4.4.1 General
Tacan is primarily a military system which was developed from the DME system by adding a bearing
measurement capability. Because of the frequency used, the antenna can be made relatively small. Thus a
Tacan beacon can be deployed in the field quite quickly.

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5.4.4.2 Theory
A directional antenna pattern is obtained by adding two cylindrical drums concentric with the DME
antenna. As shown in Figure 8. the inner drum has a single parasitic element attached to it while the outer
drum has nine.

DME
ANTENNA

Figure 17.
Figure 18: TACAN Antenna
Configuration
This creates the antenna pattern shown in Figure 8. The whole mechanism is rotated at 900 rpm which
gives an RF signal AM modulated at 15 and 135 Hz.
POLAR PLOT

LINEAR PLOT

4
4
2
ANTENNA

2
2
4
6
5

1
0

Figure 19.
Figure 20: TACAN Antenna Patterns

100

200

300

400

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TACAN COMPOSITE SIGNAL

2
1.5
1
0.5

Amplitude

0
0.5
1
1.5

MRG

ARG
ARG

ARG

ARG

ARG ARG

ARG

2.5
3
0

50

100

150

200
250
ANGLE(degs)

300

350

400

Figure 21:
TACAN Composite Signal Including
Main Reference Burst and
Auxiliary Reference Groups
Instead of using an FM modulated subcarrier as in VOR, Tacan uses specially coded pulse patterns added
to the DME squitter. The main reference group (MRG) occurs when the maximum of the main (15Hz) lobe
is pointing east. This is because the reference point for Tacan signals is the negative-going zero crossover.
The main reference burst consists of 24 pulses alternately 12 and 18s apart.
The 135 Hz modulation is used to obtain a much finer resolution than is available from VOR. Once the
receiver has determined which 40 degree segment it is in, it refines the angle by measuring the relative
phase of the 135 Hz signal. Thus 8 additional reference bursts (called auxiliary groups or ARG) are
transmitted each consisting of 12 pulses 30s apart

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The receiver signal processing is relatively simple. 15Hz and 135 Hz filters separate the two bearing
signals. Using the time between the decoded North reference burst and the negative-going zero crossover
of the 15 Hz signal, the 40 degree segment can be determined. Once this has been established the Auxiliary
Reference Burst and the next negative-going zero crossover of the 135 Hz is used to get the final bearing
.

Auxiliary
Burst
Decoder
135Hz
Filter

Phase
Shifter

Peak
Rider

Comparator

9:1 ratio
link
15Hz
Filter

Phase
Shifter

Comparator

North
Burst
Decoder
Cockpit Bearing Indicator

Figure 22:
TACAN Receiver Block Diagram
The cockpit readouts are the same as those for VOR and DME

5.4.4.2.1 Accuracy, Integrity Availability

Accuracy and immunity to reflections are better than with VOR
Integrity and Availability are about the same as VOR

5.4.4.2.2 Comments
Because military aircraft use the same airways as civilian aircraft, Tacans are usually collocated
with VORs to form a facility called a VORTAC
Stand alone Tacans are installed at military bases to provide an approach aid.

5.5. ABSOLUTE NAVIGATION SYSTEMS

5.5.1 Definition:
An absolute navigation system is one which provides vehicle position referred to a general coordinate system. The
coordinate system might be local e.g. a locally level cartesian system for test purposes or it could be global such
as latitude/longitude.

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5.5.2 Waypoints:
In general the straight segments of a route are called legs and in relative navigation the endpoints of the legs are
determined by the facility on which the route is based (NDB, VOR or TACAN). In absolute navigation there are
no such facilities and the legs endpoints are defined by waypoints. A waypoint being an imaginary point in space
defined in whatever coordinate system the navigation system is using (usually latitude/longitude). Waypoints are
usually 2 dimensional for enroute navigation by can be 3 dimensional especially when the navigation system is
capable of providing vertical guidance.

5.5.3 Special Requirements for Absolute Navigation

a) Accurate survey of ground stations (if used by the nav system)
b) Accurate survey of Airway waypoints
c) Accurate data base of airway waypoints, facility locations.
Note 1: This last point is extremely important. First of all the size of the data base determines the area of
operation of the navigation system. Secondly, the data base has to be accurate and up to date. Data bases
are usually updated every 28 days by the national government agency responsible for air navigation
Good configuration control is mandatory.
Note 2: In addition to the data base received from government agencies, airlines may generate their own to
accommodate any special routings they may have.

5.5.4 Advantages of Absolute Navigation

a) Airways can be defined in accordance with the requirements of the air traffic control system without regard
to the problems of installing a facility at the end of a given leg. e.g. over water
b) Fewer ground based facilities are required therefore less cost in equipment and maintenance.
c) Greater flexibility for flight planning. More direct routes. This creates a problem with air traffic control by
making the locations and velocities of aircraft more random. The newer automated air traffic control systems

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are addessing this problem.

5.5.5 Absolute Navigation Systems in Use Today

a) LORAN C
b) INS
c) GPS
d) Multi-DME

5.5.6 LORAN C
5.5.6.1 General:
LORAN C stands for LOng RAnge Navigation version C. This was originally a marine navigation system
and, up until recently was maintained by the US Coast Guard. About 15 years ago relatively cheap
processing capability became available which made LORAN C viable for air navigation. in 1990 LORAN
C receivers were installed in more than 100,000 aircraft. Most of these were for VFR (Visual Flight Rules)
use only. About 10% of these installations were approved for enroute and terminal navigation under IFR
(Instrument Flight Rules).
Frequency: 100 kHz (all stations)
Wavelength: 3 km

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5.5.6.2 General Principle:

Each LORAN C transmitter transmits a pulsed wave and the receiver determines a line of position by
measuring the difference in the time of transit between each of two transmitters signals. This is the
equivalent of the difference in the distances from the receiver to each transmitter. The line of position is a
hyperbola as shown below:

x,y

RECEIVER

a
c

S
c

Figure 23:
LORAN C Geometry
The positions of the transmitters are (-c,0) and (c,0), the difference in the distances from the receiver to
each transmitter is 2a since when the receiver is on the base line the distance to M is a-(-c) = a+c and the
distance to S is c-a. Therefore distance = a+c - (c-a) = 2a
2

(x + c ) + y (x c ) + y = 2 a
2

(x + c ) + y = 2 a + (x c ) + y

squaring
2

(x + c ) + y = 4 a + 4 c (x c ) + y + (x c ) + y

expanding
2

x + 2xc + y = 4a + 4xc ( x c ) + y + x 2xc + c + y

Thus
2

4xc = 4a + 4a ( x c ) + y
2

xc a = a ( x c ) + y

Squaring
2 2

2 2

x c 2xca + a = a ( x 2xc + c + y )

Expanding
2 2

2 2

2 2

x c 2xca + a = a x 2a xc + a c + a y

This reduces to
2

2 2

x (c a ) a y = a (c a )

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Setting b2=c2-a2
2 2

2 2

2 2

x b y a = a b

Dividing by a2 b2
2

x
y
----2- ----2- = 1
a b

which is the equation of a hyperbola

One useful property of a hyperbola is that the tangent at any point bisects the angle between the lines
joining the point to the foci which, in the case of LORAN C are the master and slave stations.

xx
S

Figure 24:
Property of the Tangent to a Hyperbola

5.5.6.3 Position Fix

Since a position fix requires two lines of position, at least two slave stations are required. In practice there
may be up to 4 slave stations.
A master station with its slaves is called a chain and is each chain uniquely defined by its signal format as
described below.

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A diagram of the hyperbolas formed by a master and two slaves is shown in Figure 25. Note that the angle
of intersection varies considerably over the coverage area. As an exercise use the tangent property of the
hyperbola to determine where the lines of position intersect at 90.

S1

S2

Figure 25:
Lines of Position
for Two LORAN C Stations

5.5.6.4 Signal Format

The transmitter emits a pulse whose shape is shown in figure 26.
The pulse shape was chosen such that 99% of the energy lies between 90 and 110 kHz
1.5

0.5

0.5

Figure 11.
LORAN C Pulse

1.5
0

50

100

150

Figure 26:
LORAN C Pulse

200

250

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The master station transmits a 9 pulse group with 1000s spacing except for the last two which are spaced
at 2000s. The ninth pulse is used to indicate unusable signals from one of the stations. By blinking the
ninth pulse on and off at 12 second intervals using Morse code letter groups RE, REE, REEE and REEEE
to indicate that slaves X,Y,Z and W respectively are transmitting unusable signals (see Forssell).
Subsequently, each slave transmits an 8 pulse group with 1000s spacing. In the event of an error detected
by the monitor, the slave also provides warning by blinking the first two pulses of each group at a rate of
0.25s on and 3.75s off. A given slave transmits its group at a specified delay (called the coding delay or
CD) after it receives the group from the master. The coding delays are designed so that there can be no
interference between any of the groups. The whole pattern is repeated at the Group Repetition Interval
(GRI) which is unique for each chain and is used to identify a particular chain. 40 different GRIs are
available to identify chains.
In addition, stations phase code their pulse groups i.e. the phase of the carrier is shifted 180 for certain
pulses. This can be used for further identification and is useful for protection from sky wave
contamination.

GRI
TDZ
TDX
M

Figure 27:
Typical LORAN C Group Signal Format
Note: some of the energy radiated from the stations follows the contour of the earth (Ground Wave) and
some radiates towards the ionosphere where it is reflected (Sky Wave). Only the ground wave is used for
navigation and the sky wave can be a problem because it can contaminate the ground signal. Receivers can
distinguish between them up to 1000 miles so this is the coverage that can be expected.

5.5.6.5 LORAN C transmitter

The transmitter emits a peak power of up to 4 MW. This signal is fed into a single vertical tower antenna as
high as 1350 ft. An extensive network of wires is buried in the ground to a radius of 1000 ft. to ensure a
good ground plane. This is called a counterpoise.
The master and slave stations are separated typically by 600 - 800 miles.

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47

Overall timing of the station transmissions is controlled by a monitor station located within the chain. The
monitor station compensates for some of the propagation variations which change with time.

5.5.6.6 LORAN C receivers

The receiver must be provided with the coordinates of the stations in each chain as well as the GRI for
each chain.
The receiver must first of all identify the chain by its GRI. It then locks its reference oscillator to the
master signal and then locks onto the slave signals and measures the appropriate phase differences.
In another attempt to reduce the interference from skywaves, only the first three cycles of the RF pulse are
used.
As the signals may be immersed in atmospheric noise the signal to noise ratio can be around -20dB. Other
interfering sources may add another 35 dB. Also the desired signal strengths may vary as much as 120dB.
Thus the receiver can not be implemented using conventional filter. Therefore phase locked loops acting as
tracking filters with long integration times (~10 s) are used.
To accommodate aircraft acceleration, such as in turns, the filter bandwidths must be increased thus
reducing sensitivity.

5.5.6.7 Accuracy:
Errors depend on the accuracy of the time delay measurement, the variation in propagation speed from
nominal and the geometry at a given point. Typical errors are in the range of 200m

5.5.6.8 Integrity:
Ground monitors are installed throughout the LORAN C coverage area. In the USA 196 were installed at
VOR locations. These monitors communicate directly with the LORAN C transmitters and correct for
changes in propagation conditions. If the corrections are not adequate, the transmitter starts to blink the
signal indicating to the receiver that the signal is unusable.

5.5.6.9 Availability:
Above 99%

5.5.6.10 Future Prospects

Although the US Coast Guard is no longer funding LORAN C and despite the advent of GPS which
provides much superior performance, The LORAN system is still growing. The US installed a chain in the
central US a few years ago and new chains are being built in the Far East. It is difficult to explain this
except that there are many LORAN C receivers installed in ships, boats and general aviation aircraft and
people are reluctant to invest in a replacement.

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5.5.7 Multi DME

As the name implies, multi DME uses the measured ranges to two or more DME stations to determine the position
of the aircraft.

DME1

DME3

DME2

Figure 28:
Multi DME Geometry
Two architectures for such a system suggest themselves
1. Two or more standard DME transceivers providing data to a navigation computer.
2. One frequency hopping DME transceiver providing data to the navigation computer.

DME#1
DME#2

Navigation
Computer

DME

DME#3

Figure 29:
Early Multi-DME Architectures

Navigation
Computer

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49

The first solution was necessary when only standard transceivers were available. This has the disadvantage
of requiring more hardware and more antennas thus consuming more space, power and weight. One way
around this was to tune the transceiver to the necessary stations in succession. The disadvantage of this
technique was that the transceiver had to be in search mode most of the time and that the dwell time on
each station had to be long enough to achieve lock. Thus it might take a minute or more to get enough data
for a fix in which time the aircraft could have travelled 3 or 4 miles. Thus some means of interpolating the
results was necessary. This was sometimes done with an inertial navigation system but this was expensive.
As multi-DME became more popular, and as better navigation computers became available, DME
transceiver manufacturers started to develop transceivers which were able to track several stations at the
same time. This was done by adding processing channels.
As was mentioned in the section on DME, the signal processing channel has the capability of remembering
the position of the range gate and the rate at which the range gate is moving so that the system can provide
guidance information during short periods of signal loss. Thus, in a frequency hopping system, each
channel tracks the range and range rate for one DME and is kept up to date when the RF is tuned to its
frequency.

5.5.7.1 Computations
The measured DME range must be converted from slant range to ground range using altitude information
input from the aircraft altimeter.
The navigation computer then solves the set of resulting equations:
2

( x x DME1 ) + ( y y DME1 ) = R DME1

( x x DME2 ) + ( y y DME2 ) = R DME2
( x x DME3 ) + ( y y DME3 ) = R DME3
Note: Typically these equations are not solved explicitly but are linearized and solved using an iterative
technique.
Note that a position fix may be obtained with 2 DME ranges as long as the geometry is good and provided
that the initial position is known. However, if the flight path is expected to cross the line joining the two
DMEs then an additional position data source will be required until the aircraft reaches a position with
better geometry. Another option is to select another DME if one is available.

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DME1
DME2

Figure 30:
Baseline Geometry

5.5.7.2 Accuracy:
Accuracy depends on the number of DME stations being interrogated and their geometry. With 3 stations
and reasonable geometry the accuracy would be around 100m.

5.5.7.3 Integrity:
The integrity system for the normal DME provides integrity for that part of the system. The navigation
computer monitors the number of stations and their geometry and provides a warning if these are not
adequate.

5.5.7.4 Availability:
Availability is slightly less than for stand alone DME because more stations are required but it is still
around 99%.

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5.5.8 GPS
GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It is also called Navstar (Navigation System with Timing and Ranging)

5.5.8.1 Basic Principle

The basic principle of GPS is the same as for multi-DME. i.e. in three dimensions, if the distances of the vehicle
from three known points is known then the position of the vehicle can be determined.

Figure 31.
GPS Principle

In the GPS system the known points are the satellites (or space segment) and the ranges are determined by
measuring the time of travel of an electromagnetic wave from the satellite to the receiver. Note that the
navigation equipment is not required to transmit as is the case with DME. Thus the number of users is
unlimited
The system is designed to give world-wide, all-weather coverage.
The GPS is arbitrarily divided into three segments: the space segment, the control segment and the user
segment

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5.5.8.2 Space Segment:

The space segment naturally consists of the satellite constellation.
There are 24 satellites (21 + 3 active spares) arranged in 6 orbital planes
In fact, due to the extraordinary reliability of the satellites, there are about 29 satellites in the constellation
at the present time. It is difficult to say how many there are at any given time because more are being added
and, of course some are failing. The US Coast Guard maintains a web site at which the current
constellation configuration is available (www.navcen.uscg.gov)

5.5.8.2.1 Satellite Characteristics:

Current (Jan 2008) Block IIR-M satellites
Mass: 1133 kg
Design Life:10 years
Frequency Standards: 3 Rubidium, 1 TCXO (temperature-controlled crystal oscillator)
L Band Transmitters (Navigation Signal):
b) 1575.42 MHz (L1)
c) 1227.6 MHz (L2)
S Band Communications:
d) 1783.74 (Uplink)
e) 2227.5 (Downlink)

5.5.8.2.6 Orbit Characteristics:

To specify an orbit, 6 parameters are required. For GPS these are:
g) semimajor axis
h) ellipticity
i) argument of perigee
j) inclination
k) time of perigee passage
l) longitude of the ascending node
GPS satellite orbits are all circular (or as close to circular as possible) i.e. eccentricity = 0
The semimajor axis is 26609 km making the orbit almost semi synchronous (the period being 11 hours 54
minutes). i.e. the satellite passes over almost the same point every other orbit. The reason that the orbits are
not exactly semi synchronous is that in such an orbit resonances occur. This means that because the
satellite is passing over the same track on very orbit and is subject to the same gravitational anomalies each
time. These have the cumulative effect of pulling the satellite off its intended orbit. By moving the track
slightly every orbit, the effects of these anomalies is averaged out and fewer orbit corrections are required.
Since each orbital correction means that the satellite is out of service for a few days and also shorten the
useful life of the satellite, the fewer corrections the better.

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53

The orbit inclinations are all 55. and they are arranged so the longitudes of the ascending nodes are 60
apart.
The constellation is designed to give the optimum coverage and geometry on a world-wide basis.

5.5.8.3 Control Segment

The control segment consists of tracking stations around the world and a control station at Falcon Air
Force Base in Colorado with a backup at Vandenburg Air Force Base in California.
The purpose of the tracking stations is to measure the satellite orbital parameters and to send this
information to the control station. These are spread around the world, close to the equator
The control station transmits updated orbital and clock correction data to the satellites and performs orbital
corrections

5.5.8.4 User
The user segment is simply a name for all of the receivers which are using the system for their own
purposes.

5.5.8.5 Range Measurements

The distance from a satellite to the users receiver is determined primarily by measuring the time between
transmission and reception of the signal and multiplying by the speed of light. Since only the one way
transmission is used (in contrast with the DME where the round trip time is used), the clocks on the
satellites and the receivers must be synchronized very closely considering that 1 ms of time error is
equivalent to 1000 Ft. of distance error. Also complicating the measurement is the fact that the signal must
pass through the ionosphere in which the speed of the signal is different from the speed of light and the
thickness of the

5.5.8.6 Clock Synchronization

All satellites transmit signals on the same frequencies. In order to distinguish the one satellites signal from
another, the carrier frequency is phase modulated with a pseudorandom code called a Gold code. The code
is called pseudo random because, although it appears to be random, it is generated by a known process and
it is also periodic. The C/A (clear/acquisition) code is 1023 bits long and is transmitted at a rate of
1.023MHz and thus the period is 1 ms. A receiver can select a given satellites signal by generating an
exact copy of that satellites code and locking on to it using a process called correlation.
There is another code called the P (or precision) code which is intended only for military use. Its
transmitted rate is 10.23 MHz and it provides much better resolution
Once a receiver has locked on to a signal its clock is synchronous with the satellites clock. However the
receiver still does not have an accurate estimate of time. There remains an offset.

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To eliminate the offset the receiver has to lock on to at least four satellites. Note that a position fix in three
dimensions requires a minimum of three surfaces of position (the three dimensional equivalent of lines of
position). Two spheres intersect in a circle. Adding a third produces a second circle which intersects the
first at two points. Thus there is an ambiguity, however, especially in GPS, the ambiguity can be resolved
easily because one point is usually well out in space.
In two dimensions the situation is as shown below

P1

B
A

P2

RANGE ERROR DUE

TO CLOCK BIAS
= ct
Figure 32:
Clock Error Compensation
Measured ranges (dashed circles) from A and B produce position fixes at P1 and P2. It is known that there
is a clock bias error but this can not be determined with the data available. When a measurement from C is
added, no solutions are found. But by adding (or subtracting) the same amount from each measurement
(since the clock bias is known to be common to all measurements), the solution cane be found and, in
addition, the clock bias can be determined. Thus four satellites can produce a position fix and also an
accurate time.

5.5.8.7 Position Calculation

The basic range equations for 4 satellites are:

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55

( x x 1 ) + ( y y 1 ) + ( z z 1 ) + ct = R 1
( x x 2 ) + ( y y 2 ) + ( z z 2 ) + ct = R 2
(1)

( x x 3 ) + ( y y 3 ) + ( z z 3 ) + ct = R 3
( x x 4 ) + ( y y 4 ) + ( z z 4 ) + ct = R 4
Where x,y and z are the user position coordinates (unknown) and t is the user clock bias (also unknown)
and xi,yi and zi are the coordinates of satellite i (known)
Ri is the pseudorange to satellite i (measured)
Note: pseudorange is the sum of the actual range and the offset due to the user clock bias
The above four equations are to be solved for the four unknowns, however the equations are nonlinear and
a receiver will usually use a simpler, linearized version of the equations.
Letxn,yn,zn,and tn be (a priori) best estimates of x,y,z and t (nominal position)
x,y,z and t be the corrections to these position
Rni be the nominal (a priori) pseudorange to the ith satellite
i.e. the distance between the assumed position and the satellite
Ri be the difference between the actual and nominal measurements
Hence:
x = xn+x
y = yn+y
z = zn+z
t = tn+t
Ri=Rni+Ri
and

R ni =

( x n x i ) + ( y n y i ) + ( z n z i ) + ct n

(2)

Substituting into equation 1

2

( x n + x x i ) + ( y n + y y i ) + ( z n + z z i ) = R ni + R i ct n ct
i = 1,2,3,4
Expanding and ignoring second order terms:
2

( x n x i ) + ( y n y i ) + ( z n z i ) + 2 ( x n x i )x + 2 ( y n y i )y + 2 ( z n z i )z =
R ni + R i ct n ct
Gathering terms

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2 ( x n x i )x + 2 ( y n y i )y + 2 ( z n z i )z
2
2
2
[ ( x n x i ) + ( y n y i ) + ( z n z i ) ] 1 + -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2
2
2
( xn xi ) + ( yn yi ) + ( zn zi )
R ni + R i ct n ct
Using

1 + 1 + --- on the second term

2
2
2
2 ( x n x i )x + ( y n y i )y + ( z n z i )z
( x n x i ) + ( y n y i ) + ( z n z i ) + ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (3)
2
2
2
( xn xi ) + ( yn yi ) + ( zn zi )

R ni + R i ct n ct
From (2)
2

( x n x i ) + ( y n y i ) + ( z n z i ) = R ni ct n
Substituting into (3)

yn yi
zn zi
xn xi
-------------------- ( x ) + -------------------- ( y ) + -------------------- ( z ) + ct = R i
R ni ct n
R ni ct n
R ni ct n
These four equations (for i=1,2,3,4) are the linearized equations relating pseudorange measurements to the desired user navigation information and the users clock bias.
The known quantities (RHS) are the differences between the measured pseudoranges and the values predicted
on the basis of the assumed position and clock bias and the known satellite positions.
The quantities to be computed, x,y,z and t are corrections that the user will make to the current estimate of position and clock bias.
Note: the coefficients of the quantities on the LHS are the direction cosines of the lines joining user to the satellite projected on the x, y and z axes.
Writing these equations in matrix form:

R 1
11 12 13 c x
R 2
21 22 23 c y
=
31 32 33 c z
R 3
41 42 43 c t
R 4
Where ij = direction cosine of the angle between the line to the ith satellite and the jth coordinate
Let

A = [ ij ]

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57

x
x = y
z
t
and

R 1
r =

R 2
R 3
R 4

Therefore
Ax=r

or

x = A-1r

This last equation compactly expresses the relationship between pseudorange measurements and user position and
clock bias.

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5.5.8.8 Data Message

In order to provide the receivers with necessary information the carrier is modulated at 50 bits/second with a
data message. Information contained in this message includes:
Satellite Ephemeris: All of the current orbital parameters required to determine the position of the satellite
Clock Correction: Corrections to the satellite clock to ensure that the time for all 24 satellites is the same to
within a few nanoseconds.
Ionospheric Model Parameters: The receiver has a fairly simple error model to correct for the unknown ionospheric delay and the satellite provides current values for the model.
Almanac: Each satellite also provides a rough ephemeris for each of the other satellites in the constellation.
This allows the receiver to select the optimum satellites and also aids the receiver in acquisition of the signals
by allowing it to estimate the Doppler shift.

THE GPS DATA MESSAGE

50 BITS/SECOND DATA RATE
0
SUBFRAME 1

30
TLM

TLM

SUBFRAME 2

600

EPHEMERIS

1200

960
HOW

MESSAGE (MULTIPLEXED THROUGH 25 FRAMES)

1260

1230
TLM

900

660

930

1200

EPHEMERIS

HOW

TLM

600

360

630

900
SUBFRAME 4

CLOCK CORRECTION/IONOSPHERIC MODEL PARAMETERS

HOW

TLM

SUBFRAME 3

SUBFRAME 5

HOW

330

300

300

60

HOW

TLM: TELEMETRY WORD

HOW: HAND OVER WORD

1600
ALMANAC/HEALTH/STATUS (MULTIPLEXED THROUGH 25 FRAMES)

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5.5.8.9 System Errors

5.5.8.9.1 Ionospheric Delay
As mentioned above, the ionosphere introduces an unknown, varying delay into the range measurements.
Although it is reduced by the specified error model, there remains a residual range error of about 4 m

5.5.8.9.2 Ephemeris Data

Due to tracking errors and staleness of data, errors in the orbital parameters can result in range errors of

5.5.8.9.3 Selective Availability

Originally the US Department of Defense (DOD) thought that the C/A code would not be able to provide a
very high degree of accuracy but several years of research by the civilian community improved the C/A
code accuracy to the point where it was approaching the accuracy of the P code.
In order to preserve the advantage of the P code the DOD introduced Selective Availability (S/A) on the C/
A code. S/A consists of deliberately introducing errors into the Ephemeris (orbit) data and into the satellite
clocks.
The magnitude of these errors is such that the 95% error bound is 100m.
S/A was discontinued in May 2000 but may be reintroduced if thought necessary.

5.5.8.10 GDOP
Since the errors in the signals from the satellites appear in the form of range errors and the navigator would
like to be able to estimate position error in a local coordinate system, some means of providing such a
transformation is required.
As was mentioned in the first lecture, there are two main factors in the accuracy of a position fix: the
accuracy of the measurement and the relative positions (the geometry) of the sources of the lines of
position.
In GPS the measurement (range) accuracy is relatively constant but the reference sources (satellites) are
moving relative to one another and this movement causes the accuracy to change from one moment to the
next.
GDOP (Geometric Dilution of Precision) is a numerical indicator of the goodness of the satellite
geometry.
While GDOP is the overall measure of goodness, it is made up of several components which are usually of
more use.
PDOP (Position Dilution of Precision) relates satellite range errors to the positional error
i.e. Position Error = PDOP x Range Error
HDOP (Horizontal Dilution of Precision) relates satellite range errors to XY position error
i.e. Horizontal Position Error = HDOP x Range Error (Range Error with S/A is usually about 30
m)

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VDOP (Vertical Dilution of Precision) relates satellite range errors to Vertical position error
Note PDOP2 = HDOP2 + VDOP2
Originally, when receivers were limited to handling 4 or 5 satellites, PDOP was used to select the best
set of satellites. Now that most receivers can track 10 or 12 satellites, PDOP and HDOP are used to warn of
deteriorating accuracy.
Note: with more than 4 satellites HDOPs of less than 1 are possible i.e. the extra satellites provide
redundant information.

5.5.8.11 Receivers
Receivers are usually classified according to the number of satellites they can track simultaneously each satellites data being processed by a channel. Thus a 5 channel receiver can track 5 satellites at a time. In the early
days of GPS one and two channel sequential receivers were built in which only one or two satellites could be
tracked at a given time and the satellites were tracked sequentially to get the data from the minimum number
of four. Now, as technology has progressed, the smallest receivers have five channels in which four are used
for navigation and the fifth is used to monitor the GPS data message and to select and acquire a new satellite
when one of the currently used satellites is about to go below the horizon (or minimum mask angle if greater
than 0). Many receivers now have 10 or more channels and are called all - in - view since there are very rarely
more than 10 satellites visible at any given time.

5.5.8.11.1 Certification
TSO 129 is the TSO which governs GPS receivers which are to be used in IFR (instrument flying rules)
conditions. One of the requirements for this certification is that the receiver include RAIM (Receiver
Autonomous Integrity Monitor) to fulfil the integrity specification for Non Precision Approach capability.
Note: Non Precision Approach refers to an instrument approach procedure during which vertical guidance
is not provided. Typical limits for a non precision approach are 300 Ft. ceiling and 3/4 mile visibility.
Under RAIM the receiver must have at least 5 satellites with good geometry available. To determine the
integrity of the satellites, the receiver generates position solutions for each of the 5 groups of 4 satellites
available. Using an intercomparison of the solutions, it is able to detect and identify poor satellite
performance and to alert the pilot.
The receiver is also required to be able to predict whether or not a RAIM - acceptable set of satellites will
be available at destination at the expected time of arrival.

5.5.8.11.2 General Aviation

GPS receivers are usually panel mounted and include their own guidance displays

5.5.8.11.3 Airline
Most airline GPS receivers are configured as printed circuit cards which are installed in the Flight
Management Computer chassis. They are usually all-in-view

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5.5.8.11.4 Installation
5.5.8.11.4.1 Antennas
GPS Antennas are quite small (about 4 diameter and 3/4 high. They have a hemispherical pattern and thus are always mounted on the top of the fuselage. On T-tail aircraft it is possible to
get satellite shadowing so it is preferable to mount the antenna as far forward as possible.
Also, the antenna almost always includes a low noise preamplifier. Sometimes this is built into
the antenna but it can be separate and will require mounting provisions.
The preamplifier is required because the satellite signals are very weak to start with and require
boosting to overcome losses in the cable to the receiver.
Also, if the cable run is long, it may be necessary to use special low-loss cable.
Note also that, because of the hemispherical antenna pattern, contact with satellites on the
upwing side may be lost as the aircraft banks in turns. This is not usually a problem since navigational information in a turn is not a primary concern as long as satellites are reacquired soon
after level flight is resumed.

5.5.8.12 DGPS/WAAS
As was mentioned above, two of the major sources of error in the GPS are the unknown ionospheric delay
and the Selective Availability.
One way of getting around this problem is to install a receiver at a location whose position is known very
accurately. (The error of the final results includes the errors in this position). This reference can now
measure the pseudoranges and, because it knows its own position, can determine the total error in each
one. Once this has been determined corrections can be broadcast to receivers in its vicinity and they can
apply them to achieve a much higher accuracy.
Note that the satellite pseudorange errors are used rather than the actual position error of the station. This
is due to the fact that the receivers may not be using the same set of satellites as the reference station in
which case the reference station position error would be different from that of the airborne receiver.
There are two main approaches to this idea: Local and Wide Area Differential GPS

5.5.8.12.1 Local Differential GPS (LDGPS)

As the name suggests LGPS involves a differential service which serves a restricted area. The
data link, which is the key to differential systems is usually a VHF communications channel or
a radar data link. In either case the range of the corrections transmission is line of sight.
Also limiting the range of effectiveness of LDGPS is the fact that the ionospheric errors decorrelate with distance i.e. the ionospheric errors 100 miles away are different from those at the reference site. A typical rate of degradation for this error is 1 part in a million or 1m per km of
distance.

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Although S/A does not change with distance, it is a dynamic error and thus the rate at which
errors are measured and transmitted has an effect on the system accuracy. An estimate of this
error is
2 x 10-3 t2 metres.
where t is the time between updates
NOTE: Not applicable at the present time

5.5.8.12.2 INTEGRITY
An additional function which DGPS can perform, which is vital to aircraft navigation, is integrity. The reference receiver can monitor all of the satellites in view and warn aircraft if any show
degraded performance.
The accuracy of LDGPS can be as good as 20 cm in real time. In fact, Novatel is advertising a
system capable of 2 cm accuracy in real time.
There are now commercial DGPS services which broadcast the corrections on unused parts of
FM radio transmissions e.g. in Ottawa, CBOF.

5.5.8.13 Wide Area Augmentation

As mentioned above, LDGPS is limited in range.
In order to overcome this and hence reduce the number of reference stations required to service
all of the airports in the USA, the FAA is planning to introduce a Wide Area GPS Augmentation
System.
This system will have reference stations located at approximately 500 NM intervals across the
US.
Instead of broadcasting the corrections directly the stations transmit the errors to a master station presently located in Atlantic City NJ.
The master station combines the information to generate a two dimensional model of the pseudorange
errors. It then computes the pseudorange errors for the intersection points of a 5 degree grid. Finally it
formats these into a message which is sent up to an INMARSAT satellite.
The satellite simple rebroadcasts the message to the North American Continent on the GPS frequency
using one of the unused C/A codes.
Thus a separate data link system is not required.
The airborne receiver, knowing its position, can select the four nearest grid point and interpolate the errors
estimates to get the appropriate value for its position.

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5.5.9 INS (Inertial Navigation System)

5.5.9.1 Introduction
Inertial navigation was first realized in the early 1960s and was applied to military operations. For the
military it had many advantages: it was completely self contained, it did not radiate and therefore could not
be used by the enemy to detect the aircraft or missile and it did not depend on external signals and thus
could not be jammed. While the systems were very expensive and showed marginal reliability, their
advantages outweighed their disadvantages from a military point of view.
By the beginning of the 1970s the reliability had increased and the cost had decreased to the point that
their use was feasible in civil aviation. At the present time INS is still the prime source of navigation
information in long-range navigation.

5.5.9.2 Basic Principle

The basic principle of INS is very simple: by measuring the components of acceleration of the vehicle
along the axes of the navigation coordinate system and by knowing the coordinates of the point of
departure, it should be possible to determine any subsequent position of the vehicle simply by integrating
the acceleration twice with respect to time and adding the initial coordinates and the initial velocity times
time i.e..

x = x 0 + v 0 t + a x dt
or, since the initial velocity is usually zero

x = x 0 + a x dt
The real world complicates this simple idea in several ways:
a) the accelerometers can not tell the difference between the force of gravity and acceleration of the
vehicle. Thus some means must be found to eliminate the effects of gravity
b) the vehicle on which the INS is mounted is usually free to rotate in three dimensions and thus some
means must be found to compensate for this motion.
c) the earth rotates on its axis and the INS must be able to compensate for this rotation
d) the earths surface is curved and when the vehicle moves over it the INS must be able to compensate
for this curvature.
Thus it is necessary to find means of
a) keeping the horizontal accelerometer axes aligned with the gravity vector.
or
b) measuring the relative angles between the accelerometer axes and the gravity vector and compensating for the measured gravity components.
The first method is called the stable platform approach and the second is called the strapdown approach

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Although stable platform IN systems are on their way out, it is useful to study them because they are more
readily understood.

5.5.9.2.3 Stable Platform INU

As the name implies, the stable platform INU solves the accelerometer/navigation coordinate axis
alignment problem by maintaining the two sets of axes parallel or at least a known offset from each other.
An orthogonal triad of accelerometers is mounted on a solid frame called the platform. These
accelerometers define a cartesian coordinate system and are designated x, y and z with z being the vertical
accelerometer.
To isolate the platform, on which is mounted the accelerometers, from the vehicles rotational motion a set
of gimbals is used (see Figure 34)

Figure 33:
At least three gimbals are required, one for each of the vehicles axes. In systems used on fighter aircraft an
additional roll gimbal is used to eliminate the effects of gimbal lock. This is a condition which can occur
when the pitch angle is 90 degrees. In this attitude It is possible for the three gimbals to be lined up and thus
isolation is lost. An additional roll gimbal eliminates this problem.
Note that by mounting angle measuring devices (usually synchros) at the pivot points of the gimbals it is possible to measure the pitch roll and heading of the aircraft directly. Also mounted on the pivots are servomotors
which can be used to adjust the attitude of the platform when required.

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The platform itself is maintained in the desired attitude by means of gyroscopes which are mounted on the platform along with the accelerometers. Gyroscopes as described later, can be designed with two sensitive axes and
thus only two are required to control a three axis platform. The gyroscopes sense any rotation of the stable platform and feed an error signal to the servomotors which eliminates the rotation and maintains the attitude.

5.5.9.2.3.1 Alignment
The above description refers to maintaining the attitude of the platform, however this
implies that the correct attitude has been determined previously. The original attitude is
established by a procedure called the alignment.
The alignment is usually done while the aircraft is stationary at a known location.

Note: moving alignments are possible and are necessary in such conditions as aircraft carrier operations. In this case a master INS is kept running in the ship and alignment information is sent to the aircraft whose INS platform is then slaved to the ships.
The alignment procedure consists of four stages: entry of position coordinates, coarse alignment, fine alignment and gyrocompassing

5.5.9.2.3.1 Entry of Position Coordinates:

This is required since the INS can only determine its position relative to its starting point. It
also helps in the gyrocompassing procedure.

5.5.9.2.3.2 Coarse Alignment

Initially the system assumes that the aircraft attitude is close to level so it locks the gimbals
to their zero positions.

5.5.9.2.3.3 Fine Alignment

Since the objective is to maintain the platform level, the outputs of the two horizontal accelerometers is measured and the gimbals are adjusted until their outputs are zero (or close to
it). Note that, due to unavoidable motion of the aircraft due to wind gusts or the loading of
passengers and freight, it is impossible to get the platform perfectly level. Thus the system
usually starts off with an error due to the platforms being off level (see Schuler oscillation).
Sometimes, especially in small aircraft in windy conditions, an alignment is impossible to
achieve.
During fine alignment the platform also determines the direction of True North by a process
called Gyrocompassing.

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PLATFORM
VERTICAL AXIS

PLATFORM
VERTICAL AXIS

PLATFORM
NORTH AXIS

cos

cos

NORTH

Y
cossin

sin

PLATFORM SIDE VIEW

X
coscos
= Earth rotation rate
= latitude
= Wander angle

PLATFORM TOP VIEW

Figure 34:
Gyrocompassing Geometry

5.5.9.2.3.4 Gyrocompassing
During alignment the stable element is levelled by rotating the gimbals so that the outputs of
the horizontal accelerometers are zero. Since the gyroscopes are maintaining the platform at
the same attitude in inertial space and the earth is rotating, it is necessary to insert signals
into the gimbal control loops to accomplish this. This is known as torquing the gyros. The
rate of rotation around a given axis necessary to maintain the platform level can be determined by the amount of torquing required.
The rotation necessary to keep a platform horizontal at latitude can be determined by
resolving the earths rotation vector into two components, one vertical and the other horizontal in the direction of True North. Note that the horizontal vector must be pointing True
North because it must lie in the same plane as the earth rotation vector and the platform vertical vector. The intersection of this plane and the earths surface is a meridian whos orientation, by definition, is True North. i.e. all meridians are great circles which pass through the
North and South poles.

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As is shown in Figure 35., the required rotation about the vertical axis is sin and about
the North axis is cos
During alignment the X axis of the platform is oriented at a random angle from True
North. Some INS mechanizations force this angle to zero so that the platform x axis is
always pointing North. This has disadvantages when navigating in polar regions since the
angles of the meridians are changing rapidly. Most IN systems use a wander azimuth technique in which the wander angle is measured during alignment and, in flight, is computed.
Thus the direction of True North can be determined.
The wander angle can be calculated during alignment by resolving the North axis rotation
rate into components corresponding to the platforms x and y axes as shown above. Thus by
knowing the rotation rates about the x and y axes, both wander angle and latitude may be
measured.
e.g.
R X = cos cos

Rx is the angular rate about the x axis

R Y = cos sin

Ry is the angular rate about the y axis

RY
= atan ------RX
RX
= acos ---------------- cos

5.5.9.2.4 Schuler Oscillation

One consequence of alignment errors is the so-called Schuler oscillation

0
X

Figure 35:
Accelerometer Misalignment
after Alignment Procedure

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The accelerometer above has an error of 0 radians at the end of alignment. When the INS
enters the navigation mode it senses, due to gravity, an acceleration in the x direction of magnitude -g sin .
Since the misalignments are always small, this may be approximated by -g.

a = g

Therefore

s
R

Figure 36:
Relationship Between Linear and
Angular Displacement
However, in order to compensate for motion over the earths curved surface, the system rotates
the platform through an angle = s/R where s is the computed distance and R is the earths
radius. Thus
2

d s1
a
--- = --2
R
dt R

or
2

a = R

Therefore
2

= g

or
2

+ g = 0

The general solution to this equation is

= C1 cos t + C2 sin t
where =

g
--R

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since at t = 0, = 0
C1 = 0
= 0 cos t
Thus the apparent acceleration of the system will oscillate with a period of about 84 minutes.
Since the position is obtained by double integration of the acceleration, the position error will
also oscillate with the same period

5.5.9.2.5 Accelerometers
The heart of the INS is the accelerometer which must meet the following requirements:
- low cross-coupling
- cross-coupling is defined as any output resulting from an acceleration which is not along
the desired sensitive axis.
- large dynamic range (10-4 to 10g)
- since the output is integrated twice, errors accumulate exponentially
- low asymmetry
- asymmetry causes accumulated errors when the vehicle lateral motion is sinusoidal (due to
vibration or lateral disturbances) or if the flight path is circular (some flight test profiles)
To meet these requirements most accelerometers use a force rebalance nulling technique i.e.
acceleration causes a proof mass to move. The motion is sensed by a detector of some sort
which activates a force to move the proof mass to its null position. Acceleration is determined by measuring the amount of force required to keep the proof mass at the null position.

5.5.9.2.5.1 Types of Accelerometers:

Pendulum
b) floating pivot
c) flex pivot

Vibrating string/beam

5.5.9.2.5.1 Floating pendulum

- proof mass is floated in a liquid and arranged such that the pivots are at the centre of buoyancy
- provides good damping
- possibility of leakage
- potential for misalignment leading to cross coupling

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Figure 37:
Floating Pendulum Accelerometer

5.5.9.2.5.2 Flexure pivot

- flexible support
- support must have stable characteristics (beryllium copper)
- susceptible to damage in shipping or in removal/installation

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5.5.9.2.6 Gyroscopes (Greek gyros = ring/rotation, scope= observe)

5.5.9.2.6.1 Two main types
b) Spinning Mass
c) Ring Laser (not really a gyroscope)

5.5.9.2.6.4 Spinning Mass Gyroscopes

Principle of operation
These derive their usefulness from their rigidity in space i.e. their tendency to maintain their
orientation with respect to inertial space.

5.5.9.2.6.5 Rigidity
Rigidity is proportional to the moment of inertia and the rate of rotation- INU gyroscopes
usually rotate at about 25000 rpm
The main useful property: is that if a torque is applied perpendicular to the axis of rotation
the gyro will precess, about an axis which is perpendicular to both the applied torque and
the axis of rotation

5.5.9.2.6.6 2 Degree of Freedom gyro (TDF) (see diagram)

Usually floated (at neutral buoyancy) in case filled with fluid to keep the load on the pivots
to a minimum. The fluid should be of high density and low viscosity. Neutral buoyancy is
usually achieved at temperatures in the neighbourhood of 170 degrees Fahrenheit. and is
maintained by close temperature control
Note: Only two TDFs are required for a three axis system and one gyro axis is redundant.

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Figure 38:
Schematic Diagram of Two Degree
of Freedom Gyro

5.5.9.2.6.7 1 Degree of freedom gyro

As the name implies this gyro has only one sensitive axis. Kayton and Fried mention that
they are more difficult to manufacture than TDF gyros but give no explanation.
Three are required for a three axis system

5.5.9.2.6.8 Gyro Error

Due to unavoidable extraneous torques, all gyros tend to precess slowly (called drift). Some
of the gyro drift can be calibrated out during each alignment procedure but there is always
some residual. This causes the platform to develop an increasing tilt which in turn causes an
exponential increase in position error.
Note: Although the error increases exponentially, it is essentially linear over the normal
periods of INS operation
A typical drift rate is.02 degrees/hour. Mass imbalance in the gyro will cause drift under
high g loads but this is not significant in civilian applications

5.5.9.2.6.9 Ring Laser Gyro (RLG) - First operational service 1986

This is not really a gyroscope but a device for measuring angle of rotation

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5.5.9.2.6.10 Advantages:
- more rugged than spinning mass gyros
- inherently digital output
- large dynamic range
- good linearity
- short warm up time

5.5.9.2.6.11 Principle of Operation

If two laser beams are transmitted in opposite directions around a closed path, and if the
path is rotated, the frequencies of the two beam will change in opposite directions due to the
change in the length of the optical paths. The difference in the two frequencies is proportional to the rate of rotation
e.g a 1m2 path rotated at a speed of 1 degree/sec produces a frequency difference of 30 kHz
Integration of the output frequency (i.e.counting fringes) produces the angle of rotation

5.5.9.2.6.12 Problems
a) Lock-in
Two resonant systems, if they are loosely coupled have a tendency to assume the same frequency of oscillation when difference between their own frequencies is small.
The coupling mechanism in a ring laser is the backscatter from the mirrors.
This effect is reduced by applying an oscillating rotation to the gyro (called dithering). Typically with an amplitude of a few minutes of arc at a frequency of a few hundred Hertz.
b) Bias
Motion of the HeNe in the laser cavity can give rise to extraneous Doppler shifts and nonzero outputs at rest
Reduced by careful design

5.5.9.2.2.1 RLG Errors

Undetected pulse outputs cause an accumulative error similar to the drift in the spinning
mass gyro
This is an example of the familiar random walk problem
Random walk is concerned with the sum of errors which have a known or estimated probability of occurrence. RLG errors depend on the probability of missing a pulse (a function of
the signal to noise ratio) and the rate of rotation of the gyro.

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5.5.9.2.2.2 Fibre Optic Gyro (FOG)

The principle of the FOG is similar to that of the RLG except that the optical path is defined
by an optical fibre which is wound about a coil. The readout is the fringe pattern caused by
the interference of the two beams. It is potentially more rugged than the RLG and does not
suffer from the lock-in effect. It is also easier to manufacture and hence cheaper. However,
in spite of these advantages FOGs have made little or no headway in the commercial aviation field.

5.5.9.2.2.3 INS Errors and Effects

Table 3:
Error

Effects

Initial Position x0

x=x0

Initial Tilt y0

x=ay0(1-cosst)

Initial Azimuth z0

x=yy0+az0

Accelerometer bias A

x=a(A/g)(1-cosst)

Gyro Error - Constant Drift,

x= a(t-s-1sinst)

where s is the Schuler radian frequency

g is the magnitude of gravity
a is the earths radius
t is the time in Navigate mode

5.5.9.2.2.4 INS as a Navigation System

5.5.9.2.2.5 Accuracy:
1 to 2 nautical miles error for each hour after alignment

5.5.9.2.2.6 Integrity
Extensive internal monitoring in individual units.
Cross-checking among units in multi-unit installations

5.5.9.2.2.7 Availability (Reliability)

RLG INUs provide MTBFs of up to 20,000 hours

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5.5.9.2.3 NOTES ON THE INSTALLATION AND HANDLING OF INERTIAL

NAVIGATION SYSTEMS
Inertial Navigation Units are susceptible to short duration, high G mechanical shocks. Special shipping
containers lined with shock absorbent material are supplied with the units. As far as possible the units
should be kept in their shipping containers up to the moment of installation.
Units are heavy (about 65 lbs) and are difficult to maneuver in confined spaces. Thus INU installation
racks should provide easy access for avionics technicians.
Example of bad location: The INU installation in the CL601 Challenger.

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