Aircraft Clock

Aircraft Clock

A Better Flight With GPS

The technology used by Amelia Earhart allowed her to travel 22,000 of the 29,000 miles she needed for her around the world journey. Had GPS (Global Positioning System) technology been present in July 1937, there is no doubt that she would have succeeded in locating and landing on Howland Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

GPS technology is now available to anyone: hikers, divers, boaters, and, most importantly, pilots. Smart and responsible pilots will take advantage of this technology that is so pervasive that it is even found on cell phones today.

The Global Positioning System, which is officially called NAVSTAR GPS, was created by the United States Depart of Defense in the 1970s for use by the military. In 1983, the Soviet Air Force shot down Korean Air Lines flight 007 after it entered Soviet airspace. All two hundred sixty-nine passengers on board lost their lives. As a result, President Ronald Regan declared that the Global Positioning System would be opened up to access by civilian users around the world free of cost once it was completed.

Three components make up the Global Positioning System: a grouping of 24 or more satellites which orbit the earth and send specific microwave signals, control and monitoring stations back on earth, and receivers. The receivers each detect signals supplying a three dimensional location including latitude, longitude, altitude, and time. It gives authentic information to the public regarding positioning, navigation, and timing.

The Global Positioning System has both military and civilian applications. The United States government has control over the parameters of GPS receivers exported for civilian use to ensure that enemies cannot utilize the guidance component of the GPS for military or weaponry purposes.

The Global Positioning System is based on three basic components: absolute location, relative movement, and time transfer. The absolute location component is implemented as an aid to navigation along with being a tool for surveying. Time, a fourth factor in global positioning, is growing as a factor for many industries. Several atomic clocks are housed in each GPS satellite, which allows for extremely accurate time information to accompany signals sent out from the GPS system. They can clock the time as precisely as 100 billionths of a second. This precise measurement of time is utilized by communication systems, power grids, and financial networks. The GPS time element is employed by Hollywood studios to control both audio and video data and for multi-camera sequencing.

GPS has greatly improved the aviation industry because the Global Positioning System now provides all phases of flight with much needed, exact, dependable, and nonstop positioning data. It has allowed fuel efficient, flexible, and secure routes to be designed for all users of airspace. Since GPS allows for reduced separation between different airplanes and more efficient management of air traffic, aviation delays have been cut down and air traffic control has been streamlined.

A GPS receiver’s usefulness far outweighs the cost, and all pilots should consider them essential equipment when flying. If you are considering purchasing a GPS receiver, keep in mind that, while it may be cheaper to bid on a unit on eBay, it will be your safety that you are gambling on. It pays to purchase your receiver from a company who has a solid reputation and excellent customer service, a company with a vast understanding of aircraft and the aviation industry.

About the Author

James Bunter is almost constantly in the air, using his aviation GPS everyday as a way of life. He gets his aircraft Aviation Supply at TGH Aviation Supply, knowing that he will receive excellent products and good advice from their avionics experts. From altimeters to aircraft instrument repair, James always shops at TGH Aviation.

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