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