The Status of Loran's Implementation in the National Airspace System (NAS)

Vincent L. Bencivenga

Abstract:	The FAA developed its Loran program in re- sponse to growing demands from the aviation community for Loran random (area) navigation (RNAV) services. Originally developed for marine use, Loran has succeeded as a supple- mental aid to air navigation (especially for general aviation and rotocraft) for its low cost and excellent vertical coverage. The FAA uses Loran as a supplemental radio navi- gation system for aviation, providing cover- age in areas of special need for en route and terminal IFR flights throughout the contigu- ous United States (CONUS) and Alaska. Loran also supports standard instrument approach procedures (SIAP), where signal requirements are met, through its system of 196 monitors. The recent addition of four new Loran trans- mitters, completing the North and South Cen- tral U.S. Loran chains (NOCUS, SOCUS), gives aviation complete coverage through the COBUS. The double rating of a transmitter with the North Pacific chain today provides coverage to more than half of Alaska. This paper reviews the status of the Loran program, issues regarding its implementation into the NM, updates on aviation blink modifications, and the recent commissioning event at El Paso, Texas.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 47th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1991) June 10 - 12, 1991 Williamsburg Hilton and National Conference Center Williamsburg, VA
Pages:	391 - 394
Cite this article:	Bencivenga, Vincent L., "The Status of Loran's Implementation in the National Airspace System (NAS)," Proceedings of the 47th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1991), Williamsburg, VA, June 1991, pp. 391-394.
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