The centennial of avionics: Our 100-year trek to performance-based navigation

We have followed the evolution of aviation electronics from crude communications apparatus on aircraft prior to WWI through the development of a nationwide radio-based navigation system prior to WWII. Making use of the technology advances of the Second World War, a much improved VOR-based navigation infrastructure with RADAR surveillance was implemented in the second half of the 20th century. Increased air traffic and heightened concerns for safety and environmental issues fostered the need for improved and more flexible navigation. Space-based navigation was the technological gift that provided the ability to achieve improved navigation performance. Space-based navigation is not tied to a ground network of navigation aids and airways gave way to tailored routes that minimized fuel consumption, improved comfort and safety, and generally increased the efficiency of air travel. PBN/RNP is a key element in the FAA´s NextGen and it is pretty certain the FAA will make good on its promise in the Roadmap to install the infrastructure and mandate RNAV/RNP in most airspace. It was suggested that the birth date of avionics was 1917. It is rather fitting that the FAA´s NextGen Implementation Plan, 2014 [15] shows the program to be mostly completed by 2017, the centennial of avionics.