Navigation Aids and Instrument Flight

One of the first navigation aids to be introduced (in the USA in the late 1920s) was airfield lighting to assist pilots to make landings in poor weather or after dark. The Precision Approach Path Indicator¹ was developed from this in the 1930s, indicating to the pilot the angle of descent to the airfield. This later became adopted internationally through the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) ².

In 1929 Jimmy Doolittle developed instrument flight.

With the spread of radio technology, several experimental radio based navigation aids were developed from the late 1920s onwards. These were most successfully used in conjunction with instruments in the cockpit in the form of Instrument Landing Systems (ILS), first used by a scheduled flight to make a landing in a snowstorm at Pittsburgh in 1938. A form of ILS was adopted by the ICAO for international use in 1949.

Following the development of radar in World War II, it was deployed as a landing aid for civil aviation in the form of Ground-controlled approach³ (GCA) systems, joined in 1948 by distance measuring equipment⁴ (DME), and in the 1950s by airport surveillance radar⁵ as an aid to air traffic control. VHF omnidirectional range⁶ (VOR) became the predominate means of route navigation during the 1960s superseding the Non-directional beacon⁷ (NDB). The ground based VOR stations were often co-located with DME, so that pilots could know both their radials in degrees with respect to north to, and their slant range distance to, that beacon.

All of the ground-based navigation aids are rapidly being supplemented by satellite-based aids like Global Positioning System (GPS), which make it possible for aircrews to know their position with great precision anywhere in the world. With the arrival of Wide Area Augmentation System⁸ (WAAS), GPS navigation has become accurate enough for vertical (altitude) as well as horizontal use, and is being used increasingly for instrument approaches as well as en-route navigation. However, since the GPS constellation is a single-point of failure that can be switched off by the U.S. military in time of crisis, onboard Inertial Navigation System (INS) or ground-based navigation aids are still required for backup.

Notes to text

1. Precision Approach Path Indicator   2. ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) 3. GСA (Ground-Controlled Approach) 4. DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) 5. surveillance radar 6. VOR (мvery-high-frequency omnidirectional range) 7. NDB (nondirectional beacon) 8. WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System)

–индикатор траектории для точного захода на посадку – Международная организация гражданской авиации – заход на посадку по командам с Земли   – аппаратура для измерения расстояния, система дальномеров) – радиолокационный обзор – курсовой всенаправленный радиомаяк ОВЧ-диапазона – ненаправленный маяк – широкозонная дифференциальная система

 

HELICOPTERS

 

1. helicopter 2. rotary-wing aircraft   3. to lift 4. to propel 5. blade 6. to hover 7. to distinguish 8. advantage 9. disadvantage 10. limitation 11. to compare 12. payload 13. payload capability 14. maneuverable 15. search 16. rescue 17. emergency   18. crane 19. access 20. stable 21. predecessor 22. commuter (airplane)

[′ helikoptə ] [′ routə riwiŋ ′ ε ə kra: ft]   [lift] [prə ′ pel] [bleid] [′ hovə ] [dis′ tiŋ wi∫ ] [ə d′ va: ntidʒ ] [disə d′ va: ntidʒ ] [limi′ tei∫ n] [kə m′ pε ə ] [′ peiloud] [′ peiloud keipə ′ bilə ti]   [sз: t∫ ] [′ reskju: ] [i′ mз: dʒ ə nsi]   [krein] [′ æ kses] [steibl] [′ pri: disesə ] [kə ′ mju: tə ]

- вертолет - летательный аппарат с несущим винтом - поднимать - приводить в движение - лопасть - зависать - разлтчать - преимущество - недостаток - недостаток - сравнивать - полезная нагрузка - грузоподъемность - маневренный - поиск - спасение - авария, чрезвычайная ситуация - кран - доступ - устойчивый - предшественник - самолет местных авиалиний

 

Ex.1. Read and translate the words, paying attention to the stress:

 

stable – stability

advantage – advantageous

complex – complexity

capable – capability

civil – civilian

photograph – photography

access – inaccessible

 

Lexical Exercises

 

Ex.2. Read and translate the international words:

 

Rotor, maneuverable, reverse, principle, medical, transportation, to revolutionize, quality, utilization, territory, commercial, passenger, to patrol, service, to produce, operation, fixed, stable, control, contrast, active, correction, to balance, to identify, autogiro

 

Ex.3. Read and translate:

 

- horizontal rotors, to be lifted and propelled by horizontal rotors, to be lifted and propelled by horizontal rotors having two or more rotor blades;

- to be used for a wide variety of activities; to be designed and used for a wide variety of military, civilian and commercial activities;

- inaccessible locations; placing large objects in otherwise inaccessible locations;

- to be viewed as an efficient means; to be viewed as a possibly more efficient means of transportation; to be viewed as a possibly more efficient means of transportation compared to fixed-wing commuter aircraft;

- to revolutionize mass transportation; not only to revolutionize mass transportation in parts of the world but also to improve the quality of life; not only revolutionize mass transportation in parts of the world but also improve the quality of life in a country by promoting efficient utilization of its territory

Ex.4. Match the antonyms:

 

1. fixed 2. take off 3. forward 4. advantage 5. less 6. military 7. stable 8. clockwise

1. civilian 2. disadvantage 3. land 4. counter-clockwise 5. rotary 6. in reverse 7. more 8. unstable

 

Ex.5. Translate the word-combinations paying attention to degrees of comparison of adjectives and adverbs:

a) greater cost, greater mechanical complexity, less payload capability, more efficient means of transportation, the most obvious limitation;

b) один или более несущих винтов, две или более роторных лопасти, более маневренный, меньшая скорость, меньшая дальность.

Ex.6. Match the main parts of a helicopter in the picture with their names below:

 

rotary wing landing gear fuselage tail propeller aircraft engines tail boom stabilizer

Ex.7. Match the helicopters in the pictures with their functions:

- fire-fighting; - police helicopter; - attack helicopter;

- aerial crane; - ambulance; - rescue

 

a) b)

Sikorsky S-64 Bell 205

c) d)

Westland WAH-64 Apache HH-65 Dolphin

e) f)

Sikorsky S-76C+
Ex.8. Read the text divided into four parts and choose for each part its title:

1. Limitations of a helicopter

2. Advantages of a helicopter

3. Identification of a helicopter

4. Application of helicopters

 

HELICOPTERS

A helicopter is an aircraft that is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors - each of which comprises two or more rotor blades. Helicopters are classified as rotary-wing aircraft to distinguish them from fixed-wing aircraft (or airplanes). The word " helicopter" derives from the Greek words helix (spiral) and pteron (wing).

Compared to fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters are much more maneuverable. They can hover, take off and land vertically, and fly in reverse or to the side. In principle, helicopters can fly anywhere and land any place with enough space (about twice the rotor disc area). Helicopters gain these advantages at the cost, in comparison to fixed-wing aircraft, of greater mechanical complexity, greater cost to buy and operate, and less speed, range, and payload capability.

 

Helicopters are designed and used for a wide variety of military, civilian and commercial activities. They include search and rescue, emergency medical service, firefighting, commercial aviation, executive transportation, aerial photography, media reporting, patrolling borders and so on. Helicopters are often used as aerial cranes. Their ability to lift and hover with heavy loads makes them ideal for placing large objects in otherwise inaccessible locations.

For more densely populated countries, passenger helicopters are viewed as a possibly more efficient means of transportation compared to fixed-wing commuter aircraft. Some predict that passenger helicopters can not only revolutionize mass transportation in parts of the world but also improve the quality of life in a country by promoting efficient utilization of its territory.

But helicopters have some disadvantages. The most obvious limitation of the helicopter is its slow speed. Other limitations are vibration and great noise produced during operation.

Fixed-wing aircraft are usually inherently stable. Many small, fixed-wing aircraft are stable enough that a pilot can let go of the controls while looking at a map or dealing with a radio, and the plane will generally stay on course.

In contrast, helicopters are very unstable. Simply hovering requires continuous, active corrections from the pilot. Hovering a helicopter is compared to balancing yourself while standing on a large beach ball. Adjusting one flight control on a helicopter almost always has an effect that requires an adjustment of the other controls.

 

In identifying helicopters during flight it is helpful to know that when viewed from below, the rotor of a French, Russian, or Soviet designed helicopter rotates counter-clockwise, while that of a helicopter built in Italy, the UK or the USA rotates clockwise.

A helicopter should not be mistaken for an autogyro, which is a predecessor of the helicopter that gains lift from an unpowered rotor.

Some common nicknames for helicopters are " copter, " " chopper, " " whirlybird, " " windmill, " or " helo" (common U.S. Navy usage).

 

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