Distance Measuring Equipment for the Supersonic Transport and the Corporate Twin

VOR and DME (VORTAC) provide the major enroute navigation systems in use in the U. S. today. New technology in DME has now provided a system having operational characteristics never previously obtained. Instant frequency channeling and distance search, together with a digital display of distance and ground speed which is virtually errorless, provide new operational flexibility. The unit has no moving parts. In addition, the accuracy of the new DME system is especially timely for area navigation employing a single VORTAC station. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss this DME and the technology which made it possible. The new system is one-half the size and one-third the weight of existing airline DME equipment thus making it excellent for corporate aircraft as well as the supersonic transports of the future whether they be business or airline aircraft.