Accuracy Assessment of Aircraft Positioning Using the Dual-Frequency GPS Code Observations in Aviation

Kamil Krasuski,Stepan Savchuk

doi:10.26552/com.c.2020.2.23-30

Abstract

This study publishes results of tests with regard to determination of the aircraft positioning accuracy by means of the GPS navigation in aviation. The research exploits the mathematical model of the linear combination "IonosphereFree" in order to designate the coordinates of an aircraft. The research uses the actual GPS code observations, recorded by a satellite receiver mounted in the Cessna 172, at the time of the experiment for the EPDE military aerodrome in Dęblin. The computations of the position of the Cessna 172 aircraft for the linear combination "Ionosphere-Free" were made in the APS Toolbox v.1.0.0. programme. Within evaluation of accuracy of the GPS positioning in aviation, the determined coordinates of the aircraft Cessna 172 from the APS programme were compared to an accurate reference position from the solution derived by the PPP measurement technique. In the research, the authors obtained an average positioning accuracy of approximately 5 m in the geocentric XYZ coordinates and approximately 4 m in the ellipsoidal BLh coordinates. In addition, the 3D-error parameter is lower than 7 m for the XYZ geocentric coordinates.

Highlights

In the 21st century, the GNSS satellite technology became a common method of aircraft positioning in the field of air navigation and air transport
The Annex 10 to the Chicago Convention currently allows the use of the GNSS satellite technique in aviation for the needs of performing air operations within the navigation systems of: GPS and GLONASS as GNSS satellite systems which are certified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and augmentation systems: ABAS, SBAS, GBAS [1,2,3]
The Topcon HiperPro geodetic receiver was installed on board the Cessna 172, which performed a test flight over the EPDE military airport in Dęblin

Summary

Introduction

In the 21st century, the GNSS satellite technology became a common method of aircraft positioning in the field of air navigation and air transport. In the case of the global GNSS navigation systems, only the GPS and GLONASS satellite systems are certified for a general use in civil aviation. Certification of the GPS and GLONASS navigation systems in civil aviation includes such parameters as accuracy, availability, reliability and continuity [4]. In accordance with the ICAO recommendation, the accuracy of determining the position of an aircraft with the use of the GPS navigation system must not exceed 17 m for navigation in the horizontal plane, and 37 m for navigation in the vertical plane [5]. It should be mentioned that the criteria of the parameters of accuracy, availability, reliability and continuity are referenced to the standard SPS positioning service in the GPS navigation system [7]. It must be noted that the GPS satellites transmit the signal L1-C/A on the carrier frequency of 1575.42 MHz, using the code-division multiple access technique (CDMA) [8]

Objectives

Results

Conclusion