GPS has become one of the most used technologies in the world. After all, it’s been designed to be used by pretty much everywhere at all times, which is a big reason for its great cost of using. However, it’s also one of the most practical technologies that are still being improved upon, which is why it’s so incredibly useful to use in aviation. Still, GPS sees a lot of usages elsewhere too, such as land navigation, even though its primary usage was meant to be aviation.
Basics
Satellite navigation technologies provide significant benefits to both the providers of such services, as well as the individual and combined user communities. Implementing this technology allows for a plethora of benefits, such as:
- Improved safety of flight throughout the region.
- Seamless navigation service based on advanced technology.
- More efficient, optimized, flexible, and user-preferred route structures.
- Increased system capacity.
- Reduced separation minimums resulting in increased capacity and capabilities.
- Significant savings from shortened flight times and reduced fuel consumption.
- Reduced costs to each individual State while increasing overall benefits to individual States and the entire region.
- Improved ground and cockpit situational awareness
- Increased landing capacity for aircraft and helicopters
- Being able to pair your GPS with Bluetooth for maximum potential.
Arrival
Arriving safely at your destination is the single most important aspect of flying an aircraft. That’s exactly why aviation GPS has become such a mainstay in all things aircraft-related. The first thing to know is that there are several rules for arriving at a certain airport, and pretty much all of them are centered around and focused on aircraft GPS. For example, the current Standard Terminal Arrival Routes are based on the placement of navigation aids, but also on aircraft performance and any potential or foreseeable flight obstructions. This means that it’s incredibly vital to have GPS on the aircraft because you’d be able to formulate an effective plan, such as creating an effective route, saving time and fuel, and easing congestion, all of which are incredibly important at high-density airports.
Departure
Naturally, you can’t take off from an airport if the coast isn’t clear. That’s why there are also a lot of strict rules on how to depart from an airport and compliance with these rules is absolutely necessary in order to safely reach the departure point. There are also several rules to keep in mind as you’re departing the airport, and pretty much all of them are based on GPS. The current standard instrument departures take into account factors such as available navigational aids, the performance of the aircraft, as well as flights obstructions. GPS is extremely accurate when it comes to location information, which is why it’s so important for departures. It can offer direct and flexible departure routes, ease up congestion, and save on fuel and time.
En Route
Flying aircraft is very difficult and takes a lot of time to learn, let alone master. In the past, pilots had to rely on complex and difficult instruments that weren’t perfectly accurate, at least not all of the time under all conditions. As flight paths very rarely, if ever, direct routes, the aircraft needs to fly from point to point. That means exact positioning is incredibly important, and the old instruments are always necessarily so accurate to tell the aircraft’s positioning with pinpoint precision. That’s where GPS comes in. It allows the pilot to know the exact positioning of the plane, it allows direct routes to be taken, and it can even aid in fuel consumption.
Landing
Landing is often considered the most difficult aspect of flying, and for a good reason. It’s certainly not easy to be aware of the aircraft’s positioning at all times when landing, especially since even the slightest mistake could prove catastrophic. However, with aircraft GPS systems, aeroplanes can have vertical guidance to landing scenarios, which is something that did not exist before GPS. Also, GPS can instantly calculate the necessary manoeuvres in order to land the plane efficiently, which cuts down on time and fuel consumption.
Oceanic
Flights over the oceans are very long, and can sometimes be laborious. As aircraft are out of range from ground-based surveillance systems, the controllers rely on radioed reports from pilots. These reports tend to have a time delay, which is why it’s incredibly important to keep a safe distance between aircraft in order to maintain safety. Aeroplanes with GPS relay their positioning information via digital data links through satellites to controllers. This means the aircraft’s route is always optimised and it safely reduces aircraft separation, which significantly increases capacity and reduces fuel consumption.
Surface
Surface manoeuvring has been historically neglected, which is a major reason why it’s continually a problem at major airports. Controlling and monitoring the increased volume of traffic becomes significantly more difficult as visibility decreases, meaning it can pose a serious risk to safety. GPS is still in its infant stage when it comes to implementing it for surface aircraft navigation. The information currently gathered suggests it can be implemented to drastically improve aircraft surface navigation so that aviators and controllers can easily and safely navigate aircraft on the surface.
