Introduced by Sofema Aviation Services (www.sassofia.com)
ABAS Aircraft-based Augmentation System – An augmentation system that augments and/or integrates the information obtained from the other GNSS elements with information available on board the aircraft.
Augmentation of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is a method of improving the navigation system’s attributes, such as accuracy, reliability, and availability, through the integration of external information into the calculation process.
AAIM Aircraft Autonomous Integrity Monitoring – A technology used to augment GPS and GLONASS within the GNSS 1 framework that uses information from the aircraft inertial navigation systems to cross-check the integrity of the GPS signal.
(GLONASS is Russia’s version of GPS (Global Positioning System).)
AC Advisory Circular – FAA – Provides guidance for compliance with Airworthiness, pilot certification, operational standards, training standards, and any other rules within the 14 Code of Federal Regulations CFR.
ADS Automatic Dependant Surveillance – A surveillance technique in which aircraft automatically provide, via a data link, data derived from on-board navigation and position-fixing systems, including aircraft identification, four-dimensional position and additional data as appropriate.
ADS data is displayed to the controller on a screen that replicates a radar screen.
Two main versions of ADS are currently in use:
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) is a function on an aircraft or surface vehicle that broadcasts position, altitude, vector and other information for use by other aircraft, vehicles and by ground facilities. It has become the main application of the ADS principle.
ADS-C Automatic Dependant Surveillance – Contract functions similarly to ADS-B but the data is transmitted based on an explicit contract between an air navigation service provider ANSP and an aircraft. This contract may be a demand contract, a periodic contract, an event contract and/or an emergency contract.
AHRS Attitude and Heading Reference System – An attitude and heading reference system (AHRS) consists of sensors on three axes that provide attitude information for aircraft, including roll, pitch and yaw. These are sometimes referred to as MARG (Magnetic, Angular Rate, and Gravity).sensors and consist of either solid-state or micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) gyroscopes, accelerometers and magnetometers. They are designed to replace traditional mechanical gyroscopic flight instruments.
The key difference between an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and an AHRS is the addition of an on-board processing system in an AHRS which provides attitude and heading information versus an IMU which just delivers sensor data to an additional device that computes attitude and heading. In addition to attitude determination an AHRS may also form part of an inertial navigation system.
AMC Acceptable Means of Compliance
APV Approach with Vertical Guidance – APV approaches are designed to provide vertical guidance to a Decision Altitude (DA). Where designed to a Decision Altitude (DA) the loss of height during the initial stage of a missed approach is taken into account. APV approaches terminate in a visual segment and provide for a “straight-in” landing.
APV approaches can provide a lower DA than precision approaches in certain circumstances; however an APV approach is not a precision approach (PA).
ATC Air Traffic Control
ATM Air Traffic Management
Baro-VNAV Barometric Vertical Navigation
Barometric Vertical Navigation (Baro-VNAV) is an Instrument Approach Procedure utilising lateral and vertical guidance.
This capability of GNSS enhances the integrity and safety for GNSS approaches and may support lower approach minima’s (DA – Decision Altitudes), as low as 250ft height above touch down (HAT).
The approach angle is nominally 3° with vertical descent guidance, obstacle clearance is provided to allow a momentary descent below the decision altitude (DA) while transitioning from the final approach segment to the missed approach. All Baro-VNAV Procedures are subject to minimum aerodrome temperature limitations. Baro-VNAV Operations will help eliminate controlled flight into terrain accidents (CFIT), especially during bad weather approaches and landings.
All Baro-VNAV approaches will require specific aircraft equipment and aircrew training. Blending Baro-VNAV with RNAV and RNP-AR procedures are a cost effective procedure design solution when ILS is not available
B-RNAV Basic Area Navigation Basic Area Navigation (B-RNAV). B-RNAV is defined as RNAV that meets a track keeping accuracy equal to or better than +/-5 NM for 95 percent of the flight time. This value includes signal source error, airborne receiver error, display system error, and flight technical error.
CNS Communication, Navigation, Surveillance
Communication – In order to meet future challenges, the target of the aviation community is to modernise the communications technologies by creating a global and interoperable system, for both civil and military aircraft. Read more in Skyway magazine’s issue 54 article on enhanced airborne and ground system coordination.
Navigation – Navigation applications are essentially used to maximise the capacity of airspace by facilitating flows of traffic between airports and maximising safe and efficient access to airports. Read more in Skyway magazine’s issue 54 article on performance based navigation, precision landing and navigation infrastructure.
Surveillance – The objective of the surveillance infrastructure is to enable a safe, efficient and cost-effective air navigation service. As a key player in the Single European Sky, EUROCONTROL is committed to enhancing global interoperability. Read more in Skyway magazine’s issue 54 article on new surveillance techniques.
DA Decision Altitude
DH Decision Height
DME Distance Measurement Equipment
DDPM Dispatch Deviations Procedures Manual
EASA European Aviation Safety Agency
FAA Federal Aviation Administration
FAF Final Approach Fix
FINAL APPROACH FIX (FAF) — A specified point on a non-precision instrument approach which identifies the commencement of the final segment. FINAL
APPROACH POINT (FAP) — A specified point on the glide path of a precision instrument approach which identifies the commencement of the final segment.
FANS Future Air Navigation System The world’s air traffic control system still uses components defined in the 1940s following the 1944 meeting in Chicago which launched the creation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). This traditional ATC system uses analog radio systems for aircraft Communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS).
Air traffic control’s ability to monitor aircraft was being rapidly outpaced by the growth of flight as a mode of travel. In an effort to improve aviation communication, navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management ICAO standards for a future system were created, this integrated system is known as the Future Air Navigation System (FANS) and allows controllers to play a more passive monitoring role through the use of increased automation and satellite based navigation.
In 1983, ICAO established the special committee on the Future Air Navigation System (FANS), charged with developing the operational concepts for the future of air traffic management (ATM).
The FANS report was published in 1988 and laid the basis for the industry’s future strategy for ATM through digital CNS using satellites and data links. Work then started on the development of the technical standards needed to realise the FANS Concept.
In the early 1990s, the Boeing Company announced a first generation FANS product known as FANS-1.
This was based on the early ICAO technical work for automatic dependent surveillance (ADS) and controller–pilot data link communications (CPDLC), and implemented as a software package on the flight management computer of the Boeing 747-400.
It used existing satellite based ACARS communications (Inmarsat Data-2 service) and was targeted at operations in the South Pacific Oceanic region. The deployment of FANS-1 was originally justified by improving route choice and thereby reducing fuel burn.
The datalink control and display unit (DCDU) on an Airbus A330, the pilot interface for sending and receiving CPDLC messages.
A similar product (FANS-A) was later developed by Airbus for the A340 and A330. Boeing also extended the range of aircraft supported to include the Boeing 777 and 767.
Together, the two products are collectively known as FANS-1/A. The main industry standards describing the operation of the FANS-1/A products are ARINC 622 and EUROCAE ED-100/RTCA DO-258.
Both the new Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 have FANS-1/A capability.
ATC services are now provided to FANS 1/A equipped aircraft in other oceanic airspaces, such as the North Atlantic.
However, although many of FANS-1/A’s known deficiencies with respect to its use in high density airspace were addressed in later versions of the product (FANS-1/A+), it has never been fully adopted for use in continental airspace.
The ICAO work continued after FANS-1 was announced, and continued to develop the CNS/ATM concepts. The ICAO standard for CPDLC using the Aeronautical Telecommunications Network (ATN) is preferred for continental airspace and is currently being deployed in the core European Airspace by the EUROCONTROL Agency under the LINK2000+ Programme. Mandatory carriage of the ICAO compliant system is now the subject of an Implementing Rule (for aircraft flying above FL280) issued by the European Commission.
This rule accommodates the use of FANS-1/A by long haul aircraft. All other airspace users must be ICAO compliant.
Several vendors provide ICAO ATN/CPDLC compliant products. The Airbus ICAO compliant product for the A320 family is known as FANS-B. Rockwell Collins, Honey well and Spectralux provide ICAO compliant products for Boeing aircraft, such as the Boeing 737 and 767, and the Boeing 787 will also support ICAO ATN/CPDLC compliant communications.
The main standards describing the operation of ICAO compliant products are the ICAO Technical Manual, ICAO Docs 9705 and 9896, Eurocae ED-110B/RTCA DO-280B and Eurocae ED-120/RTCA DO-290.
GBAS Ground-based Augmentation System – A Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) is a civil-aviation safety-critical system that supports local augmentation –at airport level– of the primary GNSS constellation(s) by providing enhanced levels of service that support all phases of approach, landing, departure and surface operations. While the main goal of GBAS is to provide integrity assurance, it also increases the accuracy with position errors below 1 m (1 sigma).
GLS GNSS Landing System
A GLS or GBAS Landing System is a GNSS-dependent alternative to ILS which uses a single GBAS airport ground station to transmit corrected GNSS data to suitably-equipped aircraft to enable them to fly a precision approach with much greater flexibility.
Nonlinear precision approaches can be flown as can flexible vertical profiles for such approaches. From a pilot perspective, the flight deck display is driven by GBAS avionics incorporated in the Multi-Mode Receiver (MMR) and is the same as for ILS, so no additional training is required.
GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System – Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) refers to a constellation of satellites providing signals from space that transmit positioning and timing data to GNSS receivers. The receivers then use this data to determine location.
GPS Global Positioning System – The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS,[1][2] is a space-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Air Force. It is a global navigation satellite system that provides geolocation and time information to a GPS receiver anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites
IAF Initial Approach Fix – The Initial Approach Fix (IAF) is the point where the initial approach segment of an instrument approach begins.
IAP Instrument Approach Procedure An instrument approach, or instrument approach procedure(IAP), is an aviation term for a series of predetermined manoeuvres for the orderly transfer of an aircraft under instrument flight conditions from the beginning of the initial approach to a landing or to a point from which a landing may be made visually.
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization
IF Intermediate FIX
The Initial Approach Fix (IAF) is the point where the initial approach segment of an instrument approach begins. An instrument approach procedure may have more than one Initial approach fix and initial approach segment.
The initial approach fix is usually a designated intersection, VHF omnidirectional range (VOR), non-directional beacon(NDB), or distance measuring equipment (DME) fix.
The initial approach fix may be collocated with the intermediate fix (IF) of the instrument approach and in such case they designate the beginning of the intermediate segment of the approach
ILS Instrument Landing System
IRS Inertial Reference System
IRU Inertial Reference Unit
LAAS Local Area Augmentation 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.
LP Localizer Performance
LPV Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance – Aviation’s Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance (LPV) Approach.
A localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV) approach is a modern aviation instrument approach procedure that uses wide area augmentation system(WAAS) and very precise GPS capabilities to attain an airplane’s position.
MA Missed Approach
MAP Missed Approach Point
MDA Minimum Descent Altitude
MAS Minimum Safety Altitude
NAVAID Navigation Aid
NDB Non-Directional Beacon
PANS Procedures for Air Navigation Services
PANS-OPS is an air traffic control acronym of procedures for air navigation services – aircraft operations. PANS-OPS are rules for designing instrument approach and departure procedures.
PBN Performance-based Navigation – Performance-based Navigation (PBN), in simple terms, redefines the aircraft’s required navigation capability from sensor (equipment) based to performance based.
The foundation for Performance Based Navigation is area navigation or RNAV. RNAV is a method of navigation which permits aircraft operation on any desired flight path within coverage of station-referenced navigation aids or within the limits of the capability of self-contained aids, or a combination of these.
With the advent of area navigation, there was a requirement to define and standardize the capability. This has resulted in a menu of performance-based navigation specifications.
For each specification, there is a lateral containment value that the aircraft must be able to remain within, in order to be approved for that operation.
P-RNAV Precision Area Navigation – Precision-Area Navigation (P-RNAV) is the European terminal airspace RNAV application and it is the natural progression from Basic RNAV which became mandatory in European airspace in April 1998. The P-RNAV track keeping accuracy equates to cross track accuracy of RNP1 (+/- 1NM).
RAIM Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring Receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM) is a technology developed to assess the integrity of GPS signals in a GPS receiver system. It is of special importance in safety-critical GPS applications
RNAV Area Navigation – Area navigation (RNAV) is a method of instrument flight rules (IFR) navigation that allows an aircraft to choose any course within a network of navigation beacons, rather than navigate directly to and from the beacons.
RNP Required Navigation Performance – Required navigation performance (RNP) is a type of performance-based navigation (PBN) that allows an aircraft to fly a specific path between two 3D-defined points in space.
RTCA Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics – The RTCA. Formerly known as the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics, the RTCA is a private, not-for-profit corporation that develops consensus-based recommendations on communications, navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management (CNS/ATM) system issues.
SBAS Satellite-based Augmentation System – A Satellite-based Augmentation System (SBAS) is a civil aviation safety-critical system that supports wide-area or regional augmentation – even continental scale – through the use of geostationary (GEO) satellites which broadcast the augmentation information.
SID Standard Instrument Departure
STAR Standard Terminal Arrival
TCAS Traffic Collision Avoidance System
TSE Total System Error
TSO Technical Standard Order
VNAV Vertical Navigation
VOR VHF Omni-Range
WAAS Wide Area Augmentation System Wide Area Augmentation System – How It Works. Unlike traditional ground-based navigation aids, the WAAS covers nearly all of the National Airspace System (NAS). The WAAS provides augmentation information to GPS receivers to enhance the accuracy and reliability of position estimates.
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