Signal Coverage and Characteristics of the Atlantic City Heliport

During the late fall of 1985 and the winter of 1986 test flights were conducted at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Technical Center's Heliport at Atlantic City International Airport, N.J. The purpose of these flights was to verify signal coverage of the Microwave Landing System (MLS) collocated at the heliport. Other activities included the measurement of the signal characteristics of the Hazeltine Model 2400 MLS which was installed at the heliport. Elevation and azimuth course widths were determined and, using classical Z transform techniques, statistical estimates of control motion noise and path following error were obtained. These estimates were compared with the FAA Standard for Interoperability and Performance Requirements of MLS .
Results obtained were excellent. Tolerance limits were consistently met. The data revealed that wide beam width antenna systems when installed at heliports can meet specification tolerances contained In the FAA specification for MLS Interoperability and Performance Requirements.

Authors: Barry R. Billman, Donald Gallagher, Christopher Wolf, John Morrow, Scott Shollenberger, Paula Maccagnano