how do you land a plane in low visibility conditions?
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There’s a system called Instrument Landing System (ILS), which consists of two antennas transmitting, one that tells the plane if it’s left or right of the runway (called the localizer antenna), and one that tells the plane if it’s above or below the glide slope (glide slope antenna) (how high it is supposed to be for any distance from the runway)
The planes autopilot can use these antenna signals (and a bunch of other sensors, like an altitude measuring laser) to fly the plane all the way to the runway and even land it, this would be called a Category III autoland.
For safety reasons, there still has to be **some** visibility, for a CAT III autoland the minimum altitude is generally 100m, that means at 100m above the ground the pilot has to be able to see the runway to be allowed to continue the landing. If they don’t, then the plane has to go around and try again
Firstly the runways have very powerful spotlights that is designed to be visible even though haze and fog. These not only tell the pilots where the runway is but the colors of the light is different depending on the direction so the pilots is able to see if they are within the optimal glide path or not. In addition to the spotlights the runways also have radio beacons which also send out different radio signals in different directions so that the pilots can use their radio navigation instruments to see where they are in relation to the glidepath. The radio signals are not much affected by rain or fog and can therefore be used in any conditions. In order to know how far they are from the runway they have a radar pointing down measuring the distance to the ground. And lastly modern aircraft have very good Inertial Navigation Systems and Global Positioning Systems so they know exactly where they are and by extension where the runway is.
Pilots use a combination of these systems to land safely even in low visibility conditions.
There’s a system called Instrument Landing System (ILS), which consists of two antennas transmitting, one that tells the plane if it’s left or right of the runway (called the localizer antenna), and one that tells the plane if it’s above or below the glide slope (glide slope antenna) (how high it is supposed to be for any distance from the runway)
The planes autopilot can use these antenna signals (and a bunch of other sensors, like an altitude measuring laser) to fly the plane all the way to the runway and even land it, this would be called a Category III autoland.
For safety reasons, there still has to be **some** visibility, for a CAT III autoland the minimum altitude is generally 100m, that means at 100m above the ground the pilot has to be able to see the runway to be allowed to continue the landing. If they don’t, then the plane has to go around and try again
There’s a system called Instrument Landing System (ILS), which consists of two antennas transmitting, one that tells the plane if it’s left or right of the runway (called the localizer antenna), and one that tells the plane if it’s above or below the glide slope (glide slope antenna) (how high it is supposed to be for any distance from the runway)
The planes autopilot can use these antenna signals (and a bunch of other sensors, like an altitude measuring laser) to fly the plane all the way to the runway and even land it, this would be called a Category III autoland.
For safety reasons, there still has to be **some** visibility, for a CAT III autoland the minimum altitude is generally 100m, that means at 100m above the ground the pilot has to be able to see the runway to be allowed to continue the landing. If they don’t, then the plane has to go around and try again
Firstly the runways have very powerful spotlights that is designed to be visible even though haze and fog. These not only tell the pilots where the runway is but the colors of the light is different depending on the direction so the pilots is able to see if they are within the optimal glide path or not. In addition to the spotlights the runways also have radio beacons which also send out different radio signals in different directions so that the pilots can use their radio navigation instruments to see where they are in relation to the glidepath. The radio signals are not much affected by rain or fog and can therefore be used in any conditions. In order to know how far they are from the runway they have a radar pointing down measuring the distance to the ground. And lastly modern aircraft have very good Inertial Navigation Systems and Global Positioning Systems so they know exactly where they are and by extension where the runway is.
Pilots use a combination of these systems to land safely even in low visibility conditions.
Firstly the runways have very powerful spotlights that is designed to be visible even though haze and fog. These not only tell the pilots where the runway is but the colors of the light is different depending on the direction so the pilots is able to see if they are within the optimal glide path or not. In addition to the spotlights the runways also have radio beacons which also send out different radio signals in different directions so that the pilots can use their radio navigation instruments to see where they are in relation to the glidepath. The radio signals are not much affected by rain or fog and can therefore be used in any conditions. In order to know how far they are from the runway they have a radar pointing down measuring the distance to the ground. And lastly modern aircraft have very good Inertial Navigation Systems and Global Positioning Systems so they know exactly where they are and by extension where the runway is.
Pilots use a combination of these systems to land safely even in low visibility conditions.
More advanced planes and airports have auto-land systems that are required when visibility is too low.
If you’re landing a less advanced plane and/or at a less advanced airport, then you kinda have to wait for visibility to improve or try a different airport where hopefully visibility is better.
More advanced planes and airports have auto-land systems that are required when visibility is too low.
If you’re landing a less advanced plane and/or at a less advanced airport, then you kinda have to wait for visibility to improve or try a different airport where hopefully visibility is better.
Lucky me I’m at my airplane and can take pictures!
So the antennas on the tail take signals from the ground station along the runway and convert it to deflections of the vertical and horizontal needles on the instrument (course deviation indicator or CDI) keeping both needles in the center keeps the plane along the center of the radio beam and on path to the runway. Think of it like flying down the center of a flashlight beam and you won’t be far off.
Modern GPS systems can also generate this data and display it the same way.
There are also non-precision approaches that require greater visibility as they do not provide the direct path to the runway, just get you low enough in the right place to hopefully see it.
More advanced planes and airports have auto-land systems that are required when visibility is too low.
If you’re landing a less advanced plane and/or at a less advanced airport, then you kinda have to wait for visibility to improve or try a different airport where hopefully visibility is better.
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