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Aviation Communications and Navigation Systems Flashcards

7 cards from real EAWS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Aviation Communications and Navigation Systems flashcards as text

  1. What does the acronym TACAN stand for?

    Answer: Tactical Air Navigation

    TACAN stands for Tactical Air Navigation, a military UHF navigation system that provides bearing and slant-range distance to a ground or ship-based station.

  2. What two pieces of navigation information does a TACAN system provide to the aircrew?

    Answer: Bearing and distance (DME)

    TACAN provides the magnetic bearing to/from the station and slant-range distance via its distance measuring equipment (DME) function.

  3. The Instrument Landing System (ILS) consists of which two primary components that guide an aircraft to the runway?

    Answer: Localizer and glide slope

    ILS uses a localizer for lateral (left/right) alignment with the runway centerline and a glide slope transmitter for vertical (up/down) descent guidance.

  4. What is the primary operational advantage of an Inertial Navigation System (INS) over radio-based navigation aids?

    Answer: Operation without any external signals or references

    INS uses onboard accelerometers and gyroscopes to dead-reckon position from a known starting point, requiring no external transmissions and making it jam-proof.

  5. What unique capability does the Automatic Carrier Landing System (ACLS) provide to carrier-based aircraft?

    Answer: Fully automatic approach and landing in zero-visibility conditions

    ACLS uses a shipboard radar and data-link to provide fully automatic approach and landing guidance, allowing recovery in zero-zero visibility conditions.

  6. How does the Global Positioning System (GPS) determine an aircraft's position?

    Answer: By calculating position from timing signals received from orbiting satellites

    GPS receivers compute precise position, velocity, and time by measuring the arrival time of signals from a constellation of orbiting satellites.

  7. The Automatic Direction Finder (ADF) determines an aircraft's bearing relative to which type of ground station?

    Answer: Non-Directional Beacon (NDB)

    ADF receives the omnidirectional low/medium frequency signal from a Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) and displays the bearing of that station relative to the aircraft.