Preliminary Results of Category Ill Precision Landing With 110 Automatic Landings of a United Boeing 737 Using GNSS Integrity Beacons

Clark Cohen, David Lawrence, H. Stewart Cobb, Boris Pervan, J. David Powell, Bradford Parkinson, Gerald Aubrey, William Loewe, Douglas Ormiston, B. David McNally, David Kaufmann, Victor Wullschleger, Ray Swider

Abstract:	Differential GNSS and miniature, low-cost Integrity Beucon pseudo&es were used to carry out 110 successful automatic landings of a United Boeing 737-300 aircraft. The goal was to demonstrate Required Navigation Performance (RNP)-including accuracy and integrity- for Category III Precision Landing using GNSS. These autopilot-in-the-loop flight tests using GNSS Integrity Beacons (low-power, ground-based marker beacon pseudo- lites placed under the approach path) furnish evidence that GNSS can provide the full performance necessary to meet the stringent specifications of Category III. It has been demonstrated that Integrity Beacons can provide consistent accuracies on the order of a few centimeters. But perhaps even more important, this centimeter-level accuracy coupled with the built-in geometrical redundancy provided by Integrity Beacon ranging provides an exceptional level of system integrity. This integrity is calculated to be easily better than the required one part in a billion probability of missed detection. This high level of integrity is achieved independently from ground-based monitors through Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM). The GPS receiver and single-channel navigation computer calculated precise positions and calculated glide path deviations. An analog interface provided ILS localizer and glideslope signals to the autopilot. The 737 was equipped with a dual-channel flight control system which was previously certified for Category IIIA landings. The autolands were performed through touchdown without rollout guidance. The series of 110 automatic landings were carried out at NASA’s Crows Landing facility in California over a four-day period during the week of October 10, 1994. A laser tracker was used as an independent means for characterizing flight performance. The feasibility demonstration was sponsored by the FAA.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 1995 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 18 - 20, 1995 Disneyland Hotel Anaheim, CA
Pages:	157 - 166
Cite this article:	Cohen, Clark, Lawrence, David, Cobb, H. Stewart, Pervan, Boris, Powell, J. David, Parkinson, Bradford, Aubrey, Gerald, Loewe, William, Ormiston, Douglas, McNally, B. David, Kaufmann, David, Wullschleger, Victor, Swider, Ray, "Preliminary Results of Category Ill Precision Landing With 110 Automatic Landings of a United Boeing 737 Using GNSS Integrity Beacons," Proceedings of the 1995 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Anaheim, CA, January 1995, pp. 157-166.
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