How do airplanes find routes?

This article is addressing the question of how airplanes find routes.

In general, if you have ever booked a flight, have you ever pondered on how an airplane moves from one airport to another? The next question would be, how does a pilot determine which route to follow while flying over states, countries, or even oceans? The decision on which direction an aircraft is to take is not an easy task as it involves weather conditions, legal rules and regulations, and technology.

Charting the Course

Every kind of airplane including private and small ones and big commercial airplanes respectively relies on flight plans that chart out the paths from start to the final destination. Flight plans are made by the pilot or airline dispatchers, as a general rule, before each flight. They also define the expected course and milestones with details such as altitude, speed, and flight time en route.

There are several considerations when developing an efficient flight plan which will factor in safety, authorities’ regulations, and time. Aviation laws that affect airliners include those that provide for prohibited zones and reserve fuel. Weather is also significant pilots and dispatchers study weather circumstances and prognoses to steer clear of polluted air, turbulent air, and other dangerous phenomena. Last of all, the air traffic control logistics such as the congested corridors are analysed so as to create a list of routes that are less likely to cause delays.

Advanced Navigation Technology

However, as soon as the plane is in the air, sophisticated navigation aids are used to steer the plane make corrections from time to time, and ensure that it stays on the flight route. Each commercial jetliner comes installed with Flight Management Systems (FMS) in which pilots enter the flight plan to be followed. Computerized navigation: The FMS performs most of the flight navigation with the help of various inputs.

GPS is one of the technologies that play a key role in aircraft navigation from one location to another GPS receivers on board the airplane capture signals from satellites in space to give accurate data on the current latitude, longitude, altitude, and ground speed. This makes it possible for the Flight Management System to accurately pinpoint the position and heading of the aircraft.

They are back up systems that allow planes to navigate in the sky if GPS was to be rendered ineffective. This system employs gyroscopes and accelerometers to recognize direction, speed shift, as well as positional information devoid of outside reference. Inertial systems are set up when the plane is on the ground, to create a starting position. From there, sensors keep measuring the movement in continuous motion to identify the positioning during the flight.

Also, references such as VOR, DME, and NDB stations commonly employed for conventional navigation may be incorporated. These radio beacons which are installed along lines that are often used to fly illuminate signals which a plane can follow in order to know the progress that has been made along set aerial corridors. Also, some aircraft have GLS or MLS facility to home in signals from an Instrument Landing System or Microwave Landing System, for instance, approaching the destination airport.

Inflight Updates

What flight plans do is try to lay down an ideal path that a pilot needs to follow, but it is often necessary to change it about some conditions. Towered airports can reassign new approach paths or departure routes as per the traffic density prevailing at the time. Furthermore, sometimes flights can be diverted mid-air due to weather conditions or traffic jams on the possible route.

If a major reroute is needed, then the airline dispatchers upload an alternate route or an alternate waypoint to the flight management computer. It is also possible for the pilots to arrange with the traffic controllers to change the plans if they wish to do so. Non-stop communication between the cockpit and command centers helps maintain efficient paths even as the situation changes.

Oceanic Navigation

Navigation in the overwater environment where the surface is farther away from the geographical horizon and ground-based navigation aids. Most of these across continental oceanic routes are done through FMS automation with occasional positional adjustments from the satellite and inertial guidance.

To begin, pilots stick to their cleared tracks because radar is not available almost all over the world's oceans. However, small deviations may be possible, for example, aligned with the several miles left or right of the course due to turbulence. It is also important to note that deviations of up to 12NAUTMI are sometimes permitted if done so immediately with the control tower. However, when it comes to longer deviations, pilots ask for new route clearance.

With GPS and satellite communication, planes can be issued new steering points by the dispatch to avoid storms or strong headwinds that may not be covered by broadcast towers on the ground. However, pilots have little freedom in changing them, because aircraft separation is based to a greater extent on position reports rather than on radar.

Arriving at Destination

The final demanding aspect of operation is approach to the final destination airport. Before the plane reaches the airport, it will depend on an Instrument Landing System or oner other transmitters which are positioned at standard terminal arrival routes. The Instrument Landing System is a type of aid that uses the localizer and glideslope signals for proper alignment into a vertical path and a runway.

On the other hand, traffic controllers offer vector heading changes that are transmitted over the radio to marshal the airplane to the runway in a unique pattern. By selecting appropriate reception frequencies, engaging the autopilot system, and following the directions provided by air traffic control centers, pilots allow automation and controllers to efficiently guide planes through the vicinity of more active civil airports.

During a whole flight, pre-study, computerization in the flight, GPS technology and traffic information provide airplanes with the most efficient ways of getting from one airport to another airport safely and with people all over the country or the world. The next time you check the flight route map posted at your seat, do not forget that pilots are continuously collaborating with the latest avionics to ensure the plane maintains its correct path despite the weather, traffic, or wind.