Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T16:48:59.019Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Precision Aircraft Height Estimation with Horizontal Axis Marine Radars: (The Dual Autonomous Monitoring System (DAMS))

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2009

J. M. ten Have
J. M. ten Have
Affiliation:
(National Aerospace Laboratory NLR, Amsterdam)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Civil aviation authorities have a requirement for the application of devices which are capable of determining the geometric height of aircraft above flight level 290 with a high degree of precision. These devices, called height monitoring units (HMUS), should pave the way for a safe and expeditious introduction of reduced vertical separation of 1000 ft above flight level 290.

In this paper the design philosophy as well as the prototype development of such a device, which is called the dual-synchronized autonomous monitoring system (DAMS), are outlined. This device operates fully independently of any airborne equipment such as secondary surveillance radar transponders.

The configuration basically consists of two standard marine radars with both axes of revolution situated in a horizontal plane. With this configuration it is possible to determine the trajectory of an aircraft and, in particular, the geometrical height above ground level within typical radar slant range coverage of some 18 km. The basic application of this equipment will be in the field of height monitoring of aircraft targets in environments with reduced vertical separation standards of 1000 ft above flight level 290, but a wider application of this concept is foreseen for local precision tracking of aircraft targets.

Keywords

1. Air traffic control2. Flight levels3. Height measurement
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Navigation , Volume 46 , Issue 3 , September 1993 , pp. 412 - 421
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Navigation 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1ten Have, J. M.Cox, M. E. and Forrester, D. A. (1991). European studies to investigate the feasibility of using 1000 ft vertical separation minima above FL 290. Part I: overview of organization, techniques employed and conclusions. This Journal, 44, 171–183.Google Scholar
2ten Have, J. M.Moek, G.Cox, M. E. and Harrison, D. (1993). European studies to investigate the feasibility of using 1000 ft vertical separation minima above FL 290. Part III: further results and overall conclusions. This Journal 46, 245.Google Scholar
3Joyce, K. T. (1990). Developing monitoring requirements for reduced separation airspace. SAE Technical Paper 901977, Warrendale, USA.Google Scholar
4Harrison, D. and Moek, G. (1992). European studies to investigate the feasibility of using 1000 ft vertical separation minima above FL 290. Part II: precision radar data analysis and collision risk assessment. This Journal, 45, 91–106.Google Scholar
5 Anon. Review of the General Concept of Separation Panel (ICAO–RGCSP), Sixth Meeting Report, 28 November—15 December 1988, ICAO Montreal, Canada, 1988.Google Scholar
6Manolakis, D. E.et al. (1992). Computation of aircraft geometric height under radar surveillance. IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic systems, 28, No. 1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7ten Have, J. M. (1989). Some comments on the monitoring of height–keeping performance. NLR Memorandum VG–89–005, National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR), Amsterdam, The Netherlands. (Also: ICAO RGCSP WG/B, WP–89/5, Paris, 1989.)Google Scholar
8ten Have, J. M. (1990). Proposal for the development of a height monitoring unit by NLR — the dual–synchronized autonomous monitoring system (DAMS). NLR Memorandum VG–90–018 L, National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR), Amsterdam, The Netherlands. (Also: EUROCONTROL VSSG/40, DP-258, London, 1990).Google Scholar
9Nagaoka, S.et al. (1992). A simple radar for navigation accuracy measurements. This Journal, 34, 462–469.Google Scholar
10Nagaoka, S. Review of the General Concept of Separation Panel (ICAO–-RGCSP), Paper WG/A-IP/7; Possibility of a height monitoring sensor using two NAMS–type radars. Working Group A Meeting, 22 April to 6 May 1992, ICAO Montreal, Canada, 1992.Google Scholar
11Brugman, J.Verpoorte, J. and Willekens, A. J. L. (1992). DAMS Height Monitoring Unit, phase one. NLR CR 92328, National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR), Amsterdam, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
12ten Have, J. M. and Willekens, A. J. L. (1993). An NLR concept for a ground–based aircraft height monitoring system. Newsletter of the Netherlands Institute of Navigation (NIN), Spring ’93 issue, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
13Blom, H. A. P. and Huisman, W. C. (1987). An aircraft trajectory segmentation and classification method based on the Mode of Flight (MOF) concept. NLR TV 87100 L, National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR), Amsterdam, The Netherlands, November.Google Scholar