History of Aircraft Landing Aids

One of the most difficult tasks a pilot has to perform is to achieve a smooth and safe landing.
Early pilots landed on an open field, facing any direction that gave them the best angle relative to the
wind. But as traffic grew, and more aircraft began to use airports rather than farms or fields, landings
became limited to certain directions. Landing aids were developed to help pilots find the correct landing
course and to make landing safer.

Airports had begun using lights in the late 1920s, when landing fields were marked with rotating
lights so they could be found after dark. In the early 1930s, airports installed the earliest forms of
approach lighting. These indicated the correct angle of descent and whether the pilot was right on target.
Gradually, the colors of the lights and their rates of flash became standard worldwide based on
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.

Developed in the 1940s, the aid consisted of lights in rows that showed the pilot a simple funnel
of two rows that led him to the end of the runway. Other patterns showed him when he was off to the right
or left, or too high or low. Radio navigation aids also assisted in landing. One type, introduced in 1929,
was the four-course radio range, where the pilot was guided by the strength of Morse code signals.

Instrumental Landing System (ILS)

An instrument landing system (ILS) enables aircraft to land if the pilots are unable to establish
visual contact with the runway. It does this by way of transmitted radio signals. The tests of the system
began in 1929, and the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) authorized installation of the system in
1941 at six locations. The first landing of a scheduled U.S. passenger airliner using ILS was on January
26, 1938, as a Pennsylvania-Central Airlines Boeing 247-D flew from Washington, D.C., to Pittsburgh
and landed in a snowstorm using only the ILS system.
Localizer

One of the main components of the ILS system is the localizer which handles
the guidance in the horizontal plane. The localizer is an antenna system comprised
of a VHF transmitter which uses the same frequency range as a VOR transmitter
(108.10 – 111.95 MHz), however the frequencies of the localizer are only placed on
odd decimals, with a channel separation of 50 kHz.

A B

A. Antennas of the localizer system B. Radiation pattern of the localizer’s VHF transmitter
UHF descent beacon – glide slope
The glide slope, or angle of the descent plane provides the vertical guidance for the pilot during
an approach. It’s created by a ground UHF transmitter containing an antenna system operating in the
range of 329.30 - 335.00 MHz, with a channel separation of 50 kHz.
 A B

A. The UHF descent beacon draws a glide slope in the area

B. The radiation pattern of the UKV descent beacon forming the glide slope

Marker beacons
Outer Marker (OM)

The outer marker is located 3.5-6 NM (5.556-11.112 km) from the runway’s threshold. Its beam intersects
the glide slope’s ray at an altitude of approximately 1400 ft. (426.72 m) above the runway.

The outer position marker (blue).

Middle Marker (MM)

The middle marker is used to mark the point of transition from an approach by instruments to a
visual one. It’s located about 0.5-0.8 NM (926-1482 m) from the runway’s threshold.

The middle marker (yellow).

Inner Marker (IM)

The inner marker emits an AM wave with a modulated frequency of 3000 Hz. The identification
signal has a pattern of series of dots, in frequency of six dots per second. The beacon is located 60m in
front of the runway’s threshold. The inner marker has to be used for systems of the II. And III. Category.

The inner marker (white).

Runway lights
Approach lights (white) - provide guidance to the pilot on an approaching aircraft
to the runway.
Runway edge lights (amber) - provide sufficient guidance to the pilot during landing
and take-off especially at night or zero visibility.
Threshold lights (green) - provides information on the extremely runway where
landing aircraft is intended to land.
Touchdown zone lights – rows of white light bars (with three in each row) at 30 or
60 m (98 or 197 ft.) intervals on either side of the centerline for 900 m (3,000 ft.).
PAPI lights (precision approach path indicator) - provides a positive indicating
on the aircraft position relative to the optimal slope during final approach to the
runway.
Runway End Identifier Lights (REIL) – unidirectional (facing approach direction)
or omnidirectional pair of synchronized flashing lights installed at the runway
threshold, one on each side.
Runway centerline lighting system (RCLS) – lights embedded into the surface
of the runway at 50 ft. (15 m) intervals along the runway centerline on some
precision instrument runways. White except the last 900 m (3,000 ft.)
Runway End Light - a pair of four lights on each side of the runway on precision
instrument runways, these lights extend along the full width of the runway. These
lights show green when viewed by approaching aircraft and red when seen from the
runway.

Microwave Landing System

A microwave landing system (MLS) were developed in the 1980s.These
systems allow pilots to pick a path best suited to their type of aircraft and to
descend and land from more directions than the ILS. MLS is an all-weather,
precision landing system originally intended to replace or supplement instrument
landing systems (ILS). MLS has a number of operational advantages, including a
wide selection of channels to avoid interference with other nearby airports,
excellent performance in all weather, a small "footprint" at the airports, and wide
vertical and horizontal "capture" angles that allowed approaches from wider areas
around the airport.
“A display of the MLS components and their approximate placement beside the runway.”

Operational Functions
1. Approach azimuth guidance

The azimuth station transmits MLS angle and data on one of 200 channels within the frequency
range of 5031 to 5091 MHz and is normally located about 1,000 feet (300 m) beyond the stop end of the
runway, but there is considerable flexibility in selecting sites.

2. Elevation guidance
The elevation station transmits signals on the same frequency as the azimuth station. A single
frequency is time-shared between angle and data functions and is normally located about 400 feet from
the side of the runway between runway threshold and the touchdown zone.

3. Range guidance
The MLS Precision Distance Measuring Equipment (DME/P) functions in the same way as the
navigation DME, but there are some technical differences. The beacon transponder operates in the
frequency band 962 to 1105 MHz and responds to an aircraft interrogator. The MLS DME/P accuracy is
improved to be consistent with the accuracy provided by the MLS azimuth and elevation stations.

4. Data communications
The data transmission can include both the basic and auxiliary data words. All MLS facilities
transmit basic data. Where needed, auxiliary data can be transmitted. MLS data are transmitted
throughout the azimuth (and back azimuth when provided) coverage sectors. Representative data include:
Station identification, Exact locations of azimuth, elevation and DME/P stations (for MLS receiver
processing functions), Ground equipment performance level; and DME/P channel and status.

Major Components of MLS

1. Azimuth Transmitter
Compared with the existing ILS system, MLS had significant advantages. The antennas were
much smaller, using a higher frequency signal. Another advantage was that the MLS signals covered
a very wide fan-shaped area off the end of the runway, allowing controllers to direct aircraft
approaching from a variety of directions or guide aircraft along a segmented approach. In
comparison, ILS could only guide the aircraft down a single straight line, requiring controllers to
distribute planes along that line. MLS allowed aircraft to approach from whatever direction they were
already flying in, as opposed to flying to a parking orbit before "capturing" the ILS signal
2. Elevation Beam Transmitter
The Elevation Beam is similar to the Glideslope signal in ILS. The Elevation Beam
sweeps a wide area, allowing for steeper approaches. The Elevation Beam Transmitter is located
about 400 feet off the approach end of the runway’s-located with the Elevation Beam Transmitter
is the P-DME transmitter. P-DME (Precision DME) is 10x more accurate than conventional
DME. P-DME provides range to touchdown information.

3. Time Reference
MLS signals arriving at the airplane produce 2 peaks as the beam sweeps back and forth over the
receiver antenna. The airborne equipment computes the time difference between the peaks to
determine the centerline (AZ) or glide path (EL).The airborne equipment can tell the difference
between the 2 signals by a short identifier known as a “preamble”. The AZ signal sweeps at 13.5
scans a second and the EL signal scans at 40.5 scans a second. The EL signal has a higher frequency
due the necessity of a more accurate signal for glide path.
Transponder Landing System
Transponder Landing System is Establish in 1991, ANPC is a privately held company located in
Hood River, Oregon. ANPC produces the TLS Transponder Landing System and the Firefly transportable
TLS. The TLS is a precision landing system for use at airports where terrain or land constraints make
Instrument Landing System (ILS) installation infeasible or cost-prohibitive. A pc’s patented transponder
tracking technology provides high-precision aircraft positioning in real-time for area surveillance and all-
weather precision instrument approach to airports and landing areas worldwide.

TLS applications
Precision approach for terrain-challenged airports with:
• Short runways that cannot comply with ILS localizer siting standards
• Runways ending at a body of water
• Terrain upslope under the approach path that would prevent an ILS glide slope transmission from
passing flight inspection

How the TLS works

The TLS uses ground-based sensors to determine the aircraft’s three dimensional position from
signals transmitted by the aircraft’s transponder. Localizer and glide slope signals are generated based on
the aircraft position relative to ILS approach and are transmitted to the aircraft to guide the pilot to the
runway threshold. The pilot can then fly a precision approach to the minimum decision heights, just like
flying an ILS.
The minimum decision height for a given approach procedure is determined using pans-ops and will also
be affected by the planned runway markings and approach lighting.
Basic Elements of TLS
Localizer Transmitter Glideslope Transmitter

Ground Based Sensor

TLS Components