FLIGHT EVALUATION OF LORAN-C FOR GENERAL AVIATION AREA NAVIGATION

Walter M. Hollister, Krishnan Natarajan and James A. Littlefield

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	This paper reports on a flight evaluation of LORAN-C which was part of a long range study of area navigation systems for general aviation. Tests involved two different LORAN-C receivers, 6 different aircraft and a variety of antennas. Uncorrected position fixes were typically accurate to one quarter mile. With measured corrections repeatability was good to within 200 ft. (au). Signal reliability was 99.7%. The receiver was not sensitive to atmospheric noise. The time difference grid demonstrated a long term stability of 0.3 microsecond. Vertical whip and ADF E-field antennas were found suitable for airborne use. LORAN-C was found satisfactory for instrument approaches to runways at general aviation airports where published latitude-longitude coordinates were available. Accuracy was further improved by using locally measured LORAN-C time difference coordinates.
Published in:	NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 28, Number 4
Pages:	342 - 352
Cite this article:	Hollister, Walter M., Natarajan, Krishnan, Littlefield, James A., "FLIGHT EVALUATION OF LORAN-C FOR GENERAL AVIATION AREA NAVIGATION", NAVIGATION: Journal of The Institute of Navigation, Vol. 28, No. 4, Winter 1981-1982, pp. 342-352.
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