Title: Does RNAV Always Mean GPS? | Boldmethod
Headings: Does RNAV Always Mean GPS?
Does RNAV Always Mean GPS?
RNAV, Defined
RNAV Routes Have Been Around Since The 1970s
Satellite Navigation Changed The Game
An FMS Uses It All
Approved RNAV Systems, And When To Use Them
What About RNP?
So, Does RNAV Always Mean GPS?
Colin Cutler
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Content: Using the same basic concept as VOR RNAV, as long as you're within the coverage range of GPS reception and your receiver is functioning properly, you can navigate point to point. For an aircraft to get a 3D location, the GPS receiver must get a reliable signal from 4 satellites simultaneously. With GPS available and accurate nearly all of the time, it's become the go-to source for RNAV navigation. An FMS Uses It All
Flight Management Systems (FMS), which are typically found on business and airline jets, allow you to enter a series of waypoints and instrument procedures that define a flight route. If waypoints and procedures are included in the navigation database, the computer calculates the distances and courses between all waypoints in the route. During flight, the FMS provides precise guidance between each pair of waypoints, along with real-time information about aircraft course, groundspeed, distance, estimated time between waypoints, fuel consumed, and fuel/flight time remaining. While most FMS systems use GPS, that's not their only source of information. Many FMS systems in large aircraft are linked to an Inertial Navigation Unit (often times called an Inertial Reference System, or IRS), which is comprised of lasers and gyros that determine aircraft flight path, altitude, and attitude. And that's not the only extra source of information for an FMS. Most FMS systems can use GPS, IRS, VOR, LOC, and DME receivers to provided position information to the FMS.