Simulated fan-beam radar imagery

The simulation of significant aspects of the imagery available from an idealized fan-beam radar is investigated in order to evaluate the utility of such imagery in assessing the progress of an aircraft along postulated final approach paths, and to determine if the sensed imagery from a horizontally scanned fan-beam radar can be enhanced by implementing a second, vertically scanned fan-beam radar and combining the two images. Mathematical algorithms are derived for these simulations and plots are drawn for various aircraft positions and attitudes employing discrete points for two runways at Los Angeles International Airport. Simulations of the horizontally scanned Fan-beam Radar Imagery (FRI) shows that while the radar imagery presents an accurate lateral view, it lacks vertical information. Next, the combined FRI for the addition of a vertically scanned fan-beam radar to the horizontally scanned fan-beam radar is evaluated. The simulations demonstrate that this technique produces an accurate view in both the lateral and vertical directions. It is found that yaw, pitch, and roll information, as well as progress in both the horizontal and vertical planes, are apparent. These results demonstrate that such combined imagery can provide critical aircraft position and attitude information.