Radio Navigation Systems

Radio navigation or radionavigation is the application of radio frequencies to determine a position of an object on the Earth. Like radiolocation, it is a type of radiodetermination.

VOR-DME ,TACAN ,GPS

VOR-DME: One of the oldest and most useful navigational aids is the VOR system. The system was constructed after WWII and is still in use today.Very High Frequency (VHF) Omni-Directional Range (VOR) is a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft with a receiving unit to determine its position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted by a network of fixed ground radio beacons. It uses frequencies in the very high frequency(VHF) band from 108.00 to 117.95 MHz. Developed in the United States beginning in 1937 and deployed by 1946, VOR is the standard air navigational system in the world, used by both commercial and general aviation. In the year 2000 there were about 3,000 VOR stations operating around the world including 1,033 in the US, reduced to 967 by 2013[4] (stations are being decommissioned with widespread adoption of GPS).

TACAN: A tactical air navigation system, commonly referred to by the acronym TACAN- is a navigation system used by military aircraft. It provides the user with bearing and distance (slant-range or hypotenuse) to a ground or ship-borne station. It is a more accurate version of the VOR/DME system that provides bearing and range information for civil aviation. The DME portion of the TACAN system is available for civil use; at VORTAC facilities where a VOR is combined with a TACAN, civil aircraft can receive VOR/DME readings. Aircraft equipped with TACAN avionics can use this system for en route navigation as well as non-precision approaches to landing fields. The space shuttle is one such vehicle that was designed to use TACAN navigation but later upgraded with GPS as a replacement.

GPS navigation System:  Aviators throughout the world use the Global Positioning System (GPS) to increase the safety and efficiency of flight. With its accurate, continuous, and global capabilities, GPS offers seamless satellite navigation services that satisfy many of the requirements for aviation users. Space-based position and navigation enables three-dimensional position determination for all phases of flight from departure, en route, and arrival, to airport surface navigation. The GPS system has three components: The space segment, control segment, and user segments.

• Avionics
• Install supplies
• Pilot Supplies
• Test Equipment