Abstract :
A system that measures directly the headwind and tailwind component of the winds over that portion of the glide path that is critical to airplane safety has been proposed. The system uses pulse Doppler technology in very small low powered radars that operate with fixed antennas positioned close to one side of the protected runways. There is reason to believe that such a system can provide the quantitative headwind vs. distance information that is necessary for safe airport operations in periods when windshear may be expected while minimizing needless interruptions to traffic flow
