Aircraft navigation and surveillance analysis for a spherical earth

PDFMemorandumDOT-VNTSC-FAA-15-01AircraftNavigationSurveillanceGeometrySatellite navigation systemsSpheresFormulationsEarthEquationsUnited StatesJohn A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)Geyer, MichaelJohn A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)United States. Federal Aviation Administration. Wake Turbulence Research OfficeNTL-AVIATION-AVIATIONNTL-AVIATION-Air Traffic ControlNTL-AVIATION-Aviation Planning and PolicyVolpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference CenterThis memorandum addresses a fundamental function in surveillance and navigation analysis \ue2\u20ac\u201dquantifying the geometry of two or more locations relative to each other and to a spherical earth. Here, \ue2\u20ac\u153geometry\ue2\u20ac? refers to: (a) points (idealized locations); (b) paths between points; and (c) distances and angles that quantify paths. Points represent locations of either vehicles or navigation/surveillance sensors. Paths constitute trajectories followed by vehicles or sensor signals. Distances are the lengths of paths/trajectories that are either straight lines or follow the earth\ue2\u20ac\u2122s surface. Angles between paths may be measured on a plane or a spherical surface