Helicopter Applications of MLS

Barry R. Billmann, Michael Ausserer, Scott Shollenberger

Abstract:	Urban heliports with all weather capabilities must be developed if helicopters or tilt rotor aircraft are to provide reliable civil intercity transportation. The Microwave Landing System (MLS) will be the guidance system used for the first precision approach application to a civil heliport. Installation of MLS represents the first step in providing true all-weather heliport operation. Over the past several years, a variety of research activities have been conducted at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Technical Center in support of helicopter applications of MLS. The largest activity has been the collection of flight data to support Terminal Instrument Approach Procedures (TERPS) for MLS installed at heliports. Early activities focused on course width requirements, deceleration requirements, and approach minima. Recent activities have included development of siting criteria for MLS equipment at heliports, flight inspection techniques, and MLS Area Navigation (RNAV). Extensive rotorcraft flight tests were conducted as part of each activity. This paper will review the methodologies used during testing and results obtained from each activity. In addition, planned tasks to evaluate other MLS helicopter applications will be discussed.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 1988 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 26 - 29, 1988 Santa Barbara, CA
Pages:	274 - 278
Cite this article:	Billmann, Barry R., Ausserer, Michael, Shollenberger, Scott, "Helicopter Applications of MLS," Proceedings of the 1988 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Santa Barbara, CA, January 1988, pp. 274-278.
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