TCAS I Design Guidelines

Abstract

A description of the FAA Airborne Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System known as TCAS I introduces the main topic of the report; results of an investigation of simple techniques suitable for the passive and active detection of nearby aircraft by TCAS I. This is followed by a review of the measurement facilities and data used to evaluate the detection techniques. Techniques for identifying passively returns from potentially threatening aircraft, i.e., the rejection or filtering out of non-threat aircraft, are described and evaluated. Alternatives for time-sharing the 1090 MHz channel between the TCAS I transponder and the passive detector are described. A candidate passive detector is defined and its performance is evaluated using flight test data. Predictions of the performance of a low-power TCAS I based on active detection are made via link calculations and flight test measurements. A summary of results concludes the report.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 24, 1982
Accession Number
ADA121300

Entities

People

  • Albert R. Paradis
  • Jerry D. Welch
  • Vincent A. Orlando
  • William H. Harman

Organizations

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Air Traffic Control Systems
  • Aircrafts
  • Altitude
  • Collision Avoidance
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Direction Finding
  • False Alarms
  • Link Analysis
  • Measurement
  • New York
  • Passive Sensors
  • Power Levels
  • Test Facilities
  • Transmitters
  • Warning Systems

Readers

  • Aviation Safety and Air Traffic Management
  • Instructional Design and Training Evaluation.
  • Radar Systems Engineering.