TRSB Microwave Landing System Demonstration Program at Toncontin International Airport Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Abstract
The FAA is conducting operational demonstrations of several TRSB hardware configurations at selected airports in the United States and abroad. The first demonstration was at Cape May, New Jersey, using the Small Community System. The second demonstration was at Jorge Newbery Aeroparque in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The third demonstration, using the Samll community System at Toncontin Airport in Honduras, presented a geographical challenge to the operation of any precision landing system. Mountainous terrain and minimal NAV-AIDS and runway lights, limit scheduled airline flights to daylight hours. Terrain features necessitated offset approach paths for Runway 19, with azimuth and elevation sites collocated. This TRSB configuration provides azimuth proportional guidance + or - 10 deg about the runway centerline, with directional guidance from 10 deg out to 40 deg. Elevation proportional guidance from 2 deg to 11 deg, with fly-down clearance from 11 deg to 15 deg, is provided. Coverage distance is at least 20 nautical miles under heavy rain. Results using the TRSB System are: (1) The system required minimal site preparation and installation time; (2) demonstrations of several offset approach angles indicated TRSB guidance flexibility; (3) the TRSB system was judged subjectively as providing excellent guidance signals; (4) the TRSB 'Small Community System' was demonstrated to meet its design specifications; and (5) for this airport and runway, the data indicates that guidance signal quality, with no filtering, is well within ICAO noise requirements for a 'reduced capability system.'
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 26, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA054452