Navigational equipment

Up- to- date aircraft possess a glass cockpit which is fitted with different navigational equipment and devices.

A GLASS COCKPIT is a cockpit with electronic instrument displays. While on conventional aircraft there were mechanic gauges for displaying information, glass cockpits have electronic displays which are monitored by FMS. It simplifies the work of the pilots, allows to focus only on necessary information. This enhanced technology eliminates the necessity of flight engineer and navigator.

One more innovation that reduces workload on the crew is A HEAD-UP DISPLAY. It is transparent display on the glass of the cockpit that depicts necessary information which allows pilots to keep the heads up and not to be distracted by looking at the instruments.

← Copilot's HUD of a C-130J

A FLIGHT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM(FMS) is an advanced computer system that performs a great variety of in-flight tasks. It minimizes the workload on the flight crew and excludes the necessity to carry flight engineers or navigators. A primary function of it is in-flight management of the flight plan. The FMS makes use of different sensors to identify the position of the aircraft. The FMS guides the aircraft along the flight plan. The navigational data inserted into the FMS is usually updated every 28 hours. These include

√ Waypoints

√ Airways

√ Radio navigational aids including DME, VOR and NDB

√ Airports

√ Runways

√ Standard Instrument Departure (SID)

√ Standard Terminal Arrival (STAR)

√ Holding patterns

DISTANCE MEASURING EQUIPMENT (DME) is a transponder-based radio navigation technology that measures distance from aircraft to a land-based transponder by sending and receiving special impulses. The ground stations are typically co-located with VORs.

So, the DME system is composed of transmitter/receiver in the aircraft and a receiver/transmitter on the ground. They measure the distance in miles from aircraft to the RW threshold. It checks the distances from five different DME simultaneously in order to determine one position every 10 seconds.

VOR - omnidirectional radio range, is a type of radio navigation system for aircraft. A VOR ground station broadcasts a signal including the station's identifier, voice (if equipped), and navigation signal. The identifier is morse code. The voice signal is usually station name, in-flight recorded advisories, or live flight service broadcasts. The navigation signal allows the airborne receiving equipment to determine a direction to the VOR station.

GPS- Global Positioning System, precise navigation system using signals received from a fleet of low-orbiting satellites, allows pilots to determine their position. The aircraft unit finds the signals from the two nearest satellites and notifies the crew about their latitude and longitude.

Aircraft Description.

One of the most sophisticated aircraft is A 320 at present time.

The A320 was the first civil airliner to include a full digital fly-by-wire flight control system, system which allows pilots to act as operators- to steer the aircraft by operating the computerized system.

The A320's flight deck is equipped with:

• Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor (ECAM) which supplies the flight crew with complete range of information about all the systems of the aircraft. It consists of

• upper ECAM display ( depicts engine parameters and issues warnings in case of engine malfunctions)

• low ECAM display ( depicts conditions of aircraft systems and gives advice)

• FMGS which is displayed by

- Primary Flight Display which contains

- Vertical Speed Indicator that measures rate of ascending or descending.

- Attitude Indicator that gives pilots information about the aircraft’s pitch and roll characteristics and the orientation of the aircraft with respect to the horizon.

- Airspeed Indicator that displays the speed of the aircraft in knots.

- Altitude Indicator that displays the aircraft’s altitude above the sea level.

- Heading Display that shows the pilot the magnetic heading of the aircraft.

- Navigation display (depicts flight route, control points, constrains)

• Automatic Directional Finding (ADF) is an onboard receiving instrument, with a needle that continuously indicates bearing to a selected radio beacon on the ground or commercial broadcast station.

• Autopilot.