a preliminary studyof l o r a n- c additional secondary factor（初步研究l o r n c的附加因素）.doc

A Preliminary Study of LORAN-C Additional Secondary Factor (ASF) Variations CAPT Richard Hartnett, PhD, US Coast Guard AcademyGregory Johnson, JJMA, Inc.Peter F. Swaszek, PhD, University of Rhode IslandMitchell J. Narins, US Federal Aviation Administration Abstract Currently, there is considerable interest in the LORAN community in the recognition of LORAN-C as “the” backup navigation system for the global positioning system (GPS). A key to this recognition is the demonstration to aviation navigation that LORAN-C can achieve the accuracy, availability, integrity, and continuity to support non-precision approaches (RNP 0.3). To do so, it is required that we better understand the variations in the LORAN positioin “fix” due to the changing characteristics of the signal propagation path (so called additional secondary factors or ASFs). The U.S. Coast Guard Academy, under contract to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), is attempting to understand and characterize these variations for “all-in-view” receivers using time-of-arrival (TOA) data. This paper reports on some recent results in this arena. Introduction The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) observed in its recently completed Navigation Transition Study that LORAN-C, as an independent radionavigation (RNAV) system, is theoretically the best backup for the Global Positioning System (GPS). However, the FAA also observed that LORAN-C’s potential benefits to aviation hinges upon its ability to support non-precision approach (NPA), which equates to a Required Navigation Performance (RNP) of 0.3. The tests and evaluations the FAA is conducting and sponsoring will determine whether LORAN-C can provide the accuracy, availability, integrity, and continuity to support NPA. A key component in these evaluations is a better understanding of ASFs and how to apply them to achieve more accurate LORAN-C positions while ensuring that the possibility of providing hazardous and misleading information (HMI) will be no gre