AIRCRAFT

NAVIGATION
SYSTEM
BASIC NAVIGATION SYSTEM
 NOISSUCSID
FO STNIOP
DIRECTION FINDING

NON-DIRECTIONAL BEACON

MARKER BEACON
 NAVIGATION SYSTEMS
Navigation electronics are used to identify

exact location by determining direction and

distance from certain points.

HOW PILOTS USE
AIR NAVIGATION TO
FLY?
AIR NAVIGATION IS ACCOMPLISHED BY VARIOUS

METHODS. THE METHOD OR SYSTEM THAT A PILOT USES

FOR NAVIGATING THROUGH TODAY'S AIRSPACE

SYSTEM WILL DEPEND ON THE TYPE OF FLIGHT THAT

WILL OCCUR (VFR OR IFR), WHICH NAVIGATION

SYSTEMS ARE INSTALLED ON THE AIRCRAFT, AND WHICH

NAVIGATION SYSTEMS ARE AVAILABLE IN A CERTAIN

AREA.
VFR
VFR ESSENTIALLY EXISTS TO ENSURE THAT

PILOTS FLYING VISUALLY DON’T LOSE

VISIBILITY UP IN THE CLOUDS AND CRASH

IFR
INTO EACH OTHER. THIS MEANS THAT THE

PILOT NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO SEE IN FRONT

OF AND AROUND THE AIRCRAFT WHILE

FLYING. VFR REQUIRES A CEILING

GREATER THAN 3,000 FEET AGL AND IFR FLYING MEANS NAVIGATING A PLANE
VISIBILITY THAT’S GREATER THAN FIVE THROUGH ROUGH WEATHER CONDITIONS,
MILES. HEAVY CLOUDS OR UNDER THE DARKNESS

OF NIGHT, LEVERAGING COCKPIT

INSTRUMENTS AS ALTIMETERS, GPS

SYSTEMS AND VERTICAL SPEED

INDICATORS. IFR REQUIRES A CEILING

LESS THAN 1,000 FEET ABOVE GROUND

LEVEL (AGL) AND/OR VISIBILITY OF FEWER

THAN THREE MILES.

 Dead reckoning involves the use of visual checkpoints along with time and distance

calculations. The pilot chooses checkpoints that are easily seen from the air and

also identified on the map and then calculates the time it will take to fly from one

point to the next based on distance, airspeed, and wind calculations. A flight

computer aids pilots in computing the time and distance calculations and the pilot

typically uses a flight planning log to keep track of the calculations during flight.
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 Pilotage is a term that refers to the sole use of visual ground references. The pilot

identifies landmarks, such as rivers, towns, airports, and buildings and navigates

among them. The trouble with pilotage is that, often, references aren't easily seen

and can't be easily identified in low visibility conditions or if the pilot gets off track

even slightly. Therefore, the idea of dead reckoning was introduced.

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RADIO
NAVIGATION
AIDS
 Direction finding (DF), or radio direction finding (RDF), is the measurement

of the direction from which a received signal was transmitted. This can

refer to radio or other forms of wireless communication, including radar

signals detection and monitoring. By combining the direction information

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from two or more suitably spaced receivers (or a single mobile receiver),

the source of a transmission may be located via triangulation.

 Because of its early use in navigation, the DF was sometimes called a radio

compass. Its use as a navigational aid has been almost entirely replaced by

more modern navigational systems, of which the Global Positioning

System (GPS)—based on satellite communications—is probably the most

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popular because of its accuracy, low cost, and ease of use.

 ADF signals fall within the low-to-medium frequency range, they are

considered ground waves and will follow the curvature of the earth.

They are not limited by line-of-sight restrictions, making the ADF

system a reliable navigation system at lower altitudes.

The ADF equipment on the aircraft can receive two different types of
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transmitted signals from ground-based stations, including

nondirectional beacons and instrument landing system beacons. They

can even receive commercial radio broadcast stations.

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 The ADF receives radio signals with two antennas: a loop antenna

and a sense antenna. The loop antenna determines the strength of

the signal it receives from the ground station to determine the

direction of the station, and the sense antenna determines whether

the aircraft is moving toward or away from the station.

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)FDA(
 The non-directional beacon (NDB) is a ground station that emits a

constant signal in every direction, also known as an omnidirectional

beacon. An NDB signal operated on a frequency between 190-535

KHz does not offer information on the direction of the signal, just the

strength of it.
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Signals move over the ground, following the curvature of the earth.

NDB stations are classified into four groups based on the beacon

range in nautical miles.

Compass locator — 15

Medium Homing — 25
NOCAEB

Homing — 50

High Homing — 75
 Aircraft flying close to the ground and the NDB stations will get a reliable

signal despite the signal still being prone to the following errors:

Ionosphere error: Specifically during periods of sunset and sunrise, the

ionosphere reflects NDB signals back to earth, causing fluctuations in the

ADF needle.

Electrical interference: In areas of high electrical activity, such as a

thunderstorm, the ADF needle will deflect toward the source of electrical

activity, causing erroneous readings.

Terrain errors: Mountains or steep cliffs can cause bending or reflecting of

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signals. Pilots should disregard erroneous readings in these areas.

Bank error: When an aircraft is in a turn, the loop antenna position is

compromised, causing the ADF instrument to be off balance.
SRORRE
 Marker beacon receivers operate at 75 MHz and sense the audio signature

of each of the three types of beacons. The marker beacon receiver is not

tunable. The blue outer marker light illuminates when the receiver acquires

a 75 MHz signal modulated with 400 Hz, an amber middle marker light for a

75 MHz signal modulated with 1300 Hz and, a white inner marker light for a

75 MHz signal modulated with 3000 Hz. The marker beacon system must be

operationally evaluated in VFR when an ILS runway is available. The

NOCAEB REKRAM

receiver sensitivity switch must be placed in LOW SENSE (the normal

setting). Ground test equipment must be used to verify marker beacon

operation. Marker beacon with self test feature, verify lamps, audio and

lamp dimming.
PRACTICAL USE
OF NAVAIDS
Pilots will fly under visual flight rules (VFR) or instrument flight rules

(IFR), depending on the weather conditions. During visual

meteorological conditions (VMC), a pilot might fly by using pilotage

and dead reckoning alone, or they might use radio navigation or

GPS navigation techniques.

In instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) or while flying IFR, a pilot will

need to rely on cockpit instruments, such as a VOR or GPS system. Because

flying in the clouds and navigating with these instruments can be tricky, a

pilot must earn an FAA Instrument Rating to fly in IMC conditions legally.