GPS — Global Positioning System

GPS — Global Positioning System

GPS is the future of all aerial navigation in the United States. This widely acclaimed space-based navigational technology was developed and is now operated by the U.S. Air Force. In the future, it will replace virtually all of the old land-based navigational technologies, giving pilots a more accurate, reliable, trustworthy, and lower-cost navigation system while saving taxpayers millions of dollars in annual costs. It's now used by millions of people in various walks of life.

Today, many VFR pilots use handheld GPS navigational units with color or black and white moving map displays. These handheld GPS receivers cost anywhere from $500 to $1,800 and can guide pilots safely through their flights in visual flight rules (VFR) conditions. An updated "Nav Database" with information about airports and airspace can be loaded into these units every 28 days, although most handheld units are only updated by their owners once each year.

Pilots wishing to use GPS to navigate in instrument (IFR) conditions like rain, snow, heavy haze, or low clouds, must use special IFR GPS receivers that are approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and are capable of recalling FAA-designed instrument flight procedures.

These IFR-approved GPS units must be permanently installed in the aircraft and must be capable of self-monitoring their own health or integrity, as well as the integrity of the GPS satellite signals.

The use of GPS for IFR flights requires that a current "Nav Database" of information about airports, airspace, and instrument procedures be loaded into these units every 28 days.