High accuracy airborne GPS positioning: testing, data processing and results

Results from an airborne DGPS test are presented in which two receivers were used as monitor stations and another two were installed on the aircraft. Four Trimble SSE receivers were used and monitor-aircraft separations of up to 200 km were experienced during the test flights. Receiver configurations, data processing techniques and accuracy checking methods are discussed with respect to high accuracy airborne positioning. Errors from the ionosphere and orbit are discussed and analyzed using the test data. Several computational scenarios are used to assess the potential accuracy. Based on these computations and analyses, results indicate that the accuracy of airborne DGPS positioning with monitor-remote separations in the range of 50-200 km is at the level of 10 cm using high quality receivers and reliable ambiguity initialization. This positional accuracy fulfils most practical airborne applications such as photogrammetry and remote sensing