Enhanced loran offered as GPS backup
By AOPA ePublishing staff
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced plans to maintain and enhance loran as a backup “positioning, navigation, and timing” system in the event of a GPS outage. The upgraded loran system is referred to as eLoran.
“This is good because we have pushed for the continued availability of loran as the federal government has evaluated the future,” said AOPA Government Affairs Chief of Staff Randy Kenagy. “But it is still unclear how or when eLoran could be used for aviation because new standards need to be developed before avionics can be produced and certified.”
The system may eventually join paper charts and VORs as another option for pilots to use as a backup positioning system during GPS outages. In recent years, federal agencies debated decommissioning loran, but AOPA urged caution because loran has been identified as one of the few potential backup systems available to general aviation.
February 21, 2008
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