04 Aircraft Communications and Navigation

Includes all modes of communication with and between aircraft; air navigation systems (satellite and ground based); and air traffic control. For related information see also 06 Avionics and Aircraft Instrumentation; 17 Space Communications, Spacecraft Communications, Command and Tracking; and 32 Communications and Radar.

Definition

Aircraft Communication The conveyance of information to or from aircraft by radio or other signals. NASA Thesaurus, Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Air Navigation The art, science, or action of plotting and directing the course of an aircraft through the air from one place to another. Adapted from the United States Air Force Dictionary. Woodford Agee Heflin, ed. Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc.

NASA Interest

Exhaustive Interest : Information on development and utilization of communications and navigation systems for airlines, general aviation, and military aviation including air traffic control. Includes all techniques and equipment specifically intended for the transmittal of data to or from aircraft. For detailed equipment and designs, see 33 Electronics and Electrical Engineering.

Selective Interest : Communications and navigation techniques and theory of potential interest to aeronautical research and development.

Negative Interest : Commercial telephone operations; courier and messenger services; and ship navigation, unless related to aeronautics.

Input Subjects of Specific Interest

air navigation air traffic control aircraft command and control aircraft communications aircraft tracking air-sea navigation airspace management all weather global position determination approach control (aircraft) celestial navigation (aircraft) collision avoidance (aircraft control) communications networks (aircraft) communications system (aircraft) Consol/Consolan navigation system Decca navigation system digital communications systems (aircraft) Doppler navigation systems electromagnetic devices (radiators, sensors and other equipment) for navigation systems global positioning systems (aircraft) ground based and space based radar for air navigation ground control approach (GCA) systems guidance system design (aircraft) inertial navigation systems (aircraft) inertial sensors and measurement units (aircraft) instrument navigation systems ionospheric effects on radio transmission (aircraft) laser communications systems (aircraft)

laser tracking systems (aircraft) Long Range Navigation System (LORAN) man-machine communications (aircraft) microwave communications systems (aircraft) Microwave Landing System (MLS) microwave receivers (aircraft) microwave transmitters (aircraft) navigation computer systems (aircraft) navigation display devices (aircraft) navigation system design (aircraft) navigation systems (aircraft) Omega navigation system Omnidirectional Radio Range System (OMNI) passive sensors, trackers, and references (aircraft) radar communications systems (aircraft) radar detection (aircraft navigation) radar imagery (aircraft navigation) radar tracking systems (aircraft) radio communications system (aircraft) range and angle measurement (aircraft) sea navigation (aircraft related) speech analysis (aircraft voice communication) speech compression (aircraft voice communication) systems for adverse weather avoidance systems for collision avoidance TACAN telemetry (aircraft applications)

terrain avoidance systems terrain following tropospheric scatter (aircraft communications/navigation disruption) very high frequency omnirange (VOR) navigation voice communications systems (aircraft) wave propagation (aircraft communications effects)