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A ground mapping system that uses analog radar equipment to provide surveillance of aircraft and other surface vehicles on an airport surface. It is used by air-traffic controllers in airport control towers to monitor and control the movement of…

A device that computes and displays speed of an aircraft relative to the air mass in which the aircraft is flying. Three common types are the indicated airspeed meter, true airspeed indicator, and Machmeter.The commonest type is the indicated…

The satellite navigation systems GPS (the U.S.–managed Global Positioning System) and GLONASS (the Russian global navigation satellite system) have been operational in some form for decades. Other global and regional navigational satellite systems…

A device that provides the pilot with symbols representative of the attitude of an aircraft relative to an artificial horizon. In an automatic or artificial horizon a vertical gyro moves a horizon bar relative to a fixed aircraft index. Motion of…

The means for guiding and controlling aircraft from an initial approach altitude to a point where safe contact is made with the landing surface. Such systems differ from low-approach systems in three major respects: (1) They furnish not only…

An automatic means for steering an aircraft, ship, or other vehicle. The terminology means to automatically (autonomously) control a mode of the vehicle, usually its trajectory. Examples include altitude, speed, heading, accelerations, body rates,…

Navigation with the aid of celestial bodies, primarily for determination of position when landmarks are not available. In celestial navigation, position is not determined relative to the objects observed, as in navigation by piloting, but in…

A form of navigation that determines position of a craft by advancing a previous position to a new one on the basis of assumed distance and direction moved. The name probably stems from the early practice of determining speed by throwing overboard a…

Equipment used for determining the direction from which a received signal is being radiated. Direction finders serve a variety of applications. Direction finders can be used for navigation purposes to determine the heading of a vehicle relative to a…

An internationally standardized navigation system which allows an aircraft to measure its distance from a selected ground-based beacon. Such beacons are used throughout the world by all airliners, most of the military aircraft of the West, and a…