Page 26 - AAA JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2014 Online Magazine

FEATURE NAVIGATION SYSTEMS

Highways in the Sky

By Jay Menon

LATE LAST yEAR, A C130-J SuPER based radio navigation signals. And,
Hercules aircraft of the Indian Air Force Required Navigation Performance (RNP)
snaked along a narrow river valley between an enhanced mode of PBN, guarantees
the towering Himalayan peaks to make a that the aircraft does not stray from the
historic touch down at Daulat Beg Oldie, path and enables additional navigational
the highest airstrip in the world. flexibility, such as the ability to follow
Performance Based Navigation (PBN) curved paths.
enabled the mighty military transport With civil aviation sector growing at
aircraft to reach the airstrip located at rapid pace, airports around the world are
16614 feet (5065 meters) in the Aksai Chin experiencing the effects of increased air
area, after taking off from its home base at traffic, including congestion, extra fuel
Hindon, near New Delhi. burn, noise levels around airports and flight
Not long ago, an airline had to fly from delays. Aviation stakeholders have been
ground station to ground station over a formulating their future Air Navigation
specific ground track. Today, it can easily System (ANS) master plan to modernize
soar to a waypoint where there is no the skies -- part of which is the use of PBN
ground radio station, thanks to PBN. In technologies that will allow aircraft to fly
other words, the introduction of the PBN more accurate, yet flexible, flight paths.
concept represents a shift from sensor- “PBN and RNP unlock a world of
based navigation to performance based previously unrealized possibilities for
navigation. shortening aircraft paths, placing them
PBN unleashes the full potential of over non-residential areas and lowering
current-generation aircraft to fly precisely- community noise levels. It is clear that
defined paths, without relying on ground- RNP will provide more “bang for the buck”
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