In
aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...
, lateral navigation (LNAV, usually pronounced ''el-nav'') is
azimuth
An azimuth (; from ar, اَلسُّمُوت, as-sumūt, the directions) is an angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system. More specifically, it is the horizontal angle from a cardinal direction, most commonly north.
Mathematicall ...
navigation, without
vertical navigation
In aviation, vertical navigation (VNAV, usually pronounced ''vee-nav'') is glidepath information provided during an instrument approach, independently of ground-based navigation aids. An onboard navigation system displays a constant rate descent ...
(VNAV).
Area navigation
Area navigation (RNAV, usually pronounced as "''ar-nav"'') is a method of instrument flight rules (IFR) navigation that allows an aircraft to choose any course within a network of Beacon#For navigation, navigation beacons, rather than navigate ...
(RNAV)
approach plate
Approach plates (or, more formally, instrument approach procedure charts) are the printed charts of instrument approach procedures that pilots use to fly instrument approaches during instrument flight rules (IFR) operations. Each country maintains ...
s include LNAV as a non-precision
instrument approach
In aviation, an instrument approach or instrument approach procedure (IAP) is a series of predetermined maneuvers for the orderly transfer of an aircraft operating under instrument flight rules from the beginning of the initial approach to a landi ...
(NPA). When combined with
VNAV
In aviation, vertical navigation (VNAV, usually pronounced ''vee-nav'') is glidepath information provided during an instrument approach, independently of ground-based navigation aids. An onboard navigation system displays a constant rate descent ...
, the resulting instrument approach, LNAV/VNAV, is referred to as an Approach with Vertical Guidance (APV).
Instrument approaches
An LNAV approach is flown to a
Minimum Descent Altitude
In aviation, an instrument approach or instrument approach procedure (IAP) is a series of predetermined maneuvers for the orderly transfer of an aircraft operating under instrument flight rules from the beginning of the initial approach to a landi ...
, MDA, while an LNAV/VNAV approach is flown to a
Decision Altitude
In aviation, an instrument approach or instrument approach procedure (IAP) is a series of predetermined maneuvers for the orderly transfer of an aircraft operating under instrument flight rules from the beginning of the initial approach to a landi ...
, DA. If
WAAS
The Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) is an air navigation aid developed by the Federal Aviation Administration to augment the Global Positioning System (GPS), with the goal of improving its accuracy, integrity, and availability. Essential ...
becomes unavailable, a GPS or WAAS equipped aircraft can revert to the LNAV MDA using GPS only.
[
]
See also
* LPV
*Navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
External links
FAA: LNAV (Lateral Navigation)
(archived version)
References
Aircraft controls
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