ANNUNICATION OF THE DISTANCE TO A TARGET POSITION IN A GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM LANDING SYSTEM

摘要

A system for providing distance information to the pilot of an aircraft utilizing a GPS Landing System (GLS) Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) as a navigation and landing aid for the aircraft is provided, which includes a radio receiver adapted to receive signals from a ground-based radio transmitter associated with the LAAS, the signals including signals representing the location of the LAAS. A Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver adapted to receive position signals from GPS satellites and for producing signal representing the location of the aircraft is also provided, as is a controller coupled to the radio receiver and to the GPS receiver for receiving the signals representing the locations of the LAAS and of the aircraft, respectively, and for calculating the distance of the aircraft from the LAAS. A signaling mechanism coupled to the controller provides to the pilot of the aircraft with information representing the distance of the aircraft to the end of the runway.