Effect of Rotors on GPS Reception
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Philadelphia PA
Age: 73
Posts: 1,835
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It's worthwhile in all of this to remember why the CAA and other European agencies may be so 'anti' GPS.
Way back when, ILS was going to be replaced by MLS, and there were several different technical methods proposed - the two finalists were a UK method and a US method. It appears that the UK method was technically superior, however shortly before the supposed announcement date, someone in the FAA decided that the US method was going to be the one that would be adopted. Not only was that viewed as being pretty high-handed, the FAA then didn't adopt MLS in any seriousness. This whole affair has probably resonated throught halls of European aviation more than we realize, and resulted in GPS being viewed as another American attempt to take over things.
That plus the nagging (and now groundless?) worry that the US DOD could turn it off at a moments notice hasn't helped things. Neither have alleged semi-permanent areas of no GPS coverage in some parts of Italy.
All in all, it becomes easy for people to say - "See? GPS isn't perfect, and we shouldn't allow it."
This report appears at first glance to add fuel to that fire. Hopefully someone will take the authors to task and make some noise about the real results.
If GPS doesn't work, why do people keep buying the receivers?
Way back when, ILS was going to be replaced by MLS, and there were several different technical methods proposed - the two finalists were a UK method and a US method. It appears that the UK method was technically superior, however shortly before the supposed announcement date, someone in the FAA decided that the US method was going to be the one that would be adopted. Not only was that viewed as being pretty high-handed, the FAA then didn't adopt MLS in any seriousness. This whole affair has probably resonated throught halls of European aviation more than we realize, and resulted in GPS being viewed as another American attempt to take over things.
That plus the nagging (and now groundless?) worry that the US DOD could turn it off at a moments notice hasn't helped things. Neither have alleged semi-permanent areas of no GPS coverage in some parts of Italy.
All in all, it becomes easy for people to say - "See? GPS isn't perfect, and we shouldn't allow it."
This report appears at first glance to add fuel to that fire. Hopefully someone will take the authors to task and make some noise about the real results.
If GPS doesn't work, why do people keep buying the receivers?
