ABSTRACT
Area navigation (RNAV) is a means of combining, or filtering, inputs from one or more navigation sensors and defining positions that are not necessarily co-located with ground-based navigation aids. This facilitates aircraft navigation along any desired flight path within range of navigation aids; alternatively, a flight path can be planned with autonomous navigation equipment. Typical navigation sensor inputs to an RNAV system include VHF omni directional range (VOR); distance measuring equipment (DME); and global navigation satellite system (GNSS). This chapter describes RNAV systems using VOR and DME navigation aids to establish the basic principles of RNAV. The RNAV computer is used to resolve a variety of navigation equations. In order to realise the benefits of RNAV, systems contain a navigation database. Touchscreen navigators are increasingly being adopted into integrated navigation systems, including Avidyne's IFD Series. The chapter concludes with a review of Kalman filters and how RNAV systems are specified with a 'required navigation performance' (RNP).
