Localizer performance with vertical guidance

Last updated

Localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV) are the highest precision GPS (WAAS enabled) aviation instrument approach procedures currently available without specialized aircrew training requirements, such as required navigation performance (RNP). Landing minima are usually similar to those of a Cat I instrument landing system (ILS), that is, a decision height of 200 feet (61 m) and visibility of 800 m. [1] Lateral guidance is equivalent to a localizer, and uses a ground-independent electronic glide path. Thus, the decision altitude, DA, can be as low as 200 feet. An LPV approach is an approach with vertical guidance, APV, to distinguish it from a precision approach, PA, or a non-precision approach, NPA. WAAS criteria includes a vertical alarm limit more than 12 m, but less than 50 m, yet an LPV does not meet the ICAO Annex 10 precision approach standard. [2]

Contents

Examples of receivers providing LPV capability include (from Garmin) the GTN 7xx & 6xx, GNS 480, GNS 430W & 530W, and the post 2007 Garmin G1000 with GIA 63W. Various FMS models, GNSS receivers and FMS upgrades are available from Rockwell Collins (e.g. [3] ). Most new aircraft and helicopters equipped with integrated flight decks such as Rockwell Collins ProLine (TM) 21 and ProLine Fusion (TM) are LPV-capable. [4] In 2014, Avidyne began equipping general aviation and business aircraft with the IFD540 and IFD440 navigators incorporating a touch-screen flight management system with full LPV capability. [5]

LPV is designed to provide 25 feet (7.6 m) lateral and vertical accuracy 95 percent of the time. [6] Actual performance has exceeded these levels. WAAS has never been observed to have a vertical error greater than 12 metres in its operational history.[ citation needed ] As of September 17, 2015 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has published 3,567 LPV approaches at 1,739 airports. As of October 7, 2021 the FAA has published 4,088 LPV approaches at 1,965 airports. This is greater than the number of published Category I ILS procedures. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instrument landing system</span> Ground-based visual aid for landing

In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to approach until it is 200 feet (61 m) over the ground, within a 12 mile (800 m) of the runway. At that point the runway should be visible to the pilot; if it is not, they perform a missed approach. Bringing the aircraft this close to the runway dramatically increases the range of weather conditions in which a safe landing can be made. Other versions of the system, or "categories", have further reduced the minimum altitudes, runway visual ranges (RVRs), and transmitter and monitoring configurations designed depending on the normal expected weather patterns and airport safety requirements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wide Area Augmentation System</span> System that enhances the accuracy of GPS receivers

The Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) is an air navigation aid developed by the Federal Aviation Administration to augment the Global Positioning System (GPS), with the goal of improving its accuracy, integrity, and availability. Essentially, WAAS is intended to enable aircraft to rely on GPS for all phases of flight, including precision approaches to any airport within its coverage area. It may be further enhanced with the Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) also known by the preferred ICAO term Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) in critical areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instrument landing system localizer</span> Horizontal guidance system

An instrument landing system localizer, or simply localizer, is a system of horizontal guidance in the instrument landing system, which is used to guide aircraft along the axis of the runway.

Garmin Ltd. is an American, Swiss-domiciled multinational technology company founded in 1989 by Gary Burrell and Min Kao in Lenexa, Kansas, United States, with headquarters in Olathe, Kansas. Since 2010, the company is legally incorporated in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instrument approach</span> Aircraft landing procedure

In aviation, an instrument approach or instrument approach procedure (IAP) is a series of predetermined maneuvers for the orderly transfer of an aircraft operating under instrument flight rules from the beginning of the initial approach to a landing, or to a point from which a landing may be made visually. These approaches are approved in the European Union by EASA and the respective country authorities and in the United States by the FAA or the United States Department of Defense for the military. The ICAO defines an instrument approach as, "a series of predetermined maneuvers by reference to flight instruments with specific protection from obstacles from the initial approach fix, or where applicable, from the beginning of a defined arrival route to a point from which a landing can be completed and thereafter, if landing is not completed, to a position at which holding or en route obstacle clearance criteria apply."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autoland</span>

In aviation, autoland describes a system that fully automates the landing procedure of an aircraft's flight, with the flight crew supervising the process. Such systems enable airliners to land in weather conditions that would otherwise be dangerous or impossible to operate in.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microwave landing system</span> All-weather, precision radio guidance system

The microwave landing system (MLS) is an all-weather, precision radio guidance system intended to be installed at large airports to assist aircraft in landing, including 'blind landings'. MLS enables an approaching aircraft to determine when it is aligned with the destination runway and on the correct glidepath for a safe landing. MLS was intended to replace or supplement the instrument landing systems (ILS). MLS has a number of operational advantages over ILS, including a wider selection of channels to avoid interference with nearby installations, excellent performance in all weather, a small "footprint" at the airports, and wide vertical and horizontal "capture" angles that allowed approaches from wider areas around the airport.

A flight management system (FMS) is a fundamental component of a modern airliner's avionics. An FMS is a specialized computer system that automates a wide variety of in-flight tasks, reducing the workload on the flight crew to the point that modern civilian aircraft no longer carry flight engineers or navigators. A primary function is in-flight management of the flight plan. Using various sensors (such as GPS and INS often backed up by radio navigation) to determine the aircraft's position, the FMS can guide the aircraft along the flight plan. From the cockpit, the FMS is normally controlled through a Control Display Unit (CDU) which incorporates a small screen and keyboard or touchscreen. The FMS sends the flight plan for display to the Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS), Navigation Display (ND), or Multifunction Display (MFD). The FMS can be summarised as being a dual system consisting of the Flight Management Computer (FMC), CDU and a cross talk bus.

In aviation, vertical navigation is glidepath information provided during an instrument approach, independently of ground-based navigation aids. An onboard navigation system displays a constant rate descent path to minimums. The VNAV path is computed using aircraft performance, approach constraints, weather data, and aircraft weight. The approach path is computed from the top of descent point to the end of descent waypoint, which is typically the runway or missed approach point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Local-area augmentation system</span> All-weather aircraft landing system

The local-area augmentation system (LAAS) is an all-weather aircraft landing system based on real-time differential correction of the GPS signal. Local reference receivers located around the airport send data to a central location at the airport. This data is used to formulate a correction message, which is then transmitted to users via a VHF Data Link. A receiver on an aircraft uses this information to correct GPS signals, which then provides a standard ILS-style display to use while flying a precision approach. The FAA has stopped using the term LAAS and has transitioned to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) terminology of Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS). While the FAA has indefinitely delayed plans for federal GBAS acquisition, the system can be purchased by airports and installed as a Non-Federal navigation aid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transponder landing system</span> All-weather, precision landing system

A transponder landing system (TLS) is an all-weather, precision landing system that uses existing airborne transponder and instrument landing system (ILS) equipment to create a precision approach at a location where an ILS would normally not be available.

Leesburg Executive Airport at Godfrey Field is a town-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles south of the central business district of Leesburg, a town in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States.

In aviation, lateral navigation is azimuth navigation, without vertical navigation (VNAV). Area navigation (RNAV) approach plates include LNAV as a non-precision instrument approach (NPA). When combined with VNAV, the resulting instrument approach, LNAV/VNAV, is referred to as an Approach with Vertical Guidance (APV).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GNSS augmentation</span> Method of improving a navigation system

Augmentation of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is a method of improving the navigation system's attributes, such as precision, reliability, and availability, through the integration of external information into the calculation process. There are many such systems in place, and they are generally named or described based on how the GNSS sensor receives the external information. Some systems transmit additional information about sources of error, others provide direct measurements of how much the signal was off in the past, while a third group provides additional vehicle information to be integrated in the calculation process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington County Airport (Pennsylvania)</span> Airport in Pennsylvania, US

Washington County Airport is three miles (5 km) southwest of Washington in South Franklin Township, Pennsylvania. It is owned and operated by Washington County and is in the Greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area.

Simplified directional facility (SDF) is a localizer-based instrument non-precision approach to an airport, which provides final approach course similar to instrument landing system (ILS) and localizer type directional aid (LDA) approaches, although not as precise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avidyne Entegra</span> Electronic flight instrument system

Avidyne Entegra is an integrated aircraft instrumentation system, produced by Avidyne Corporation, consisting of a primary flight display (PFD), and multi-function display (MFD). Cirrus became the first customer of the Entegra system and began offering it on the SR20 and SR22 aircraft in 2003 as the first integrated flight deck for light general aviation (GA). The original Entegra system was designed to use third-party components such as a GPS from Garmin and an autopilot system from S-TEC Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Final approach</span> Final stage in an aircrafts approach to landing

In aeronautics, the final approach is the last leg in an aircraft's approach to landing, when the aircraft is lined up with the runway and descending for landing. In aviation radio terminology, it is often shortened to "final".

Avidyne Corporation is an avionics company based in Melbourne, Florida. Avidyne is developer of Integrated Avionics Systems, multi-function displays, and traffic advisory systems for light general aviation (GA) aircraft. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has facilities in Melbourne, as well as Concord, Massachusetts; Columbus, Ohio; and Boulder, Colorado.

L-3 SmartDeck - is a fully integrated cockpit system originally developed by L-3 Avionics Systems. and acquired in 2010 by Esterline CMC Electronics through an exclusive licensing agreement.

References

  1. "LPV Approach – Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance". aasfms.com. 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-01-01. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  2. Instrument Procedures Handbook, FAA-H-8083-16B (PDF). US Dept. of Transportation, FAA Flight Standards Service. 2017. p. G-6,4-26,4-50.
  3. "Error".
  4. "Pro Line Fusion®".
  5. "Avidyne®".
  6. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2008-02-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Satellite Navigation - GPS/WAAS Approaches".