Required navigation performance
Therefore, if ATC radar monitoring is not provided, safe navigation in respect to terrain shall be self-monitored by the pilot and RNP shall be used instead of RNAV.
An RNP of 10 means that a navigation system must be able to calculate its position to within a circle with a radius of 10 nautical miles.
An RNP of 0.3 means the aircraft navigation system must be able to calculate its position to within a circle with a radius of 3/10 of a nautical mile.
Improved accuracy of on-board RNP systems represent a significant advantage to traditional non-radar environments, since the number of aircraft that can fit into a volume of airspace at any given altitude is a square of the number of required separation; that is to say, the lower the RNP value, the lower the required distance separation standards, and in general, the more aircraft can fit into a volume of airspace without losing required separation.
These RNP procedures were the predecessor of the current PBN concept, whereby the performance for operation on the route is defined (in lieu of flight elements such as flyover procedures, variability in flight paths, and added airspace buffer), but they resulted in no significant design advantages.
[4] Since 2009, regulators in Peru, Chile, and Ecuador have deployed more than 25 RNP AR approach procedures, designed in conjunction with LAN Airlines.
[5] Benefits included reduction in greenhouse gases emissions and improved accessibility to airports located on mountainous terrain.
The use of RNP AR approaches in Cusco, near Machu Picchu, has reduced cancellations due to foul weather by 60 percent on flights operated by LAN.
[6] In 2011, Boeing, Lion Air, and the Indonesian Directorate General of Civil Aviation performed validation flights to test tailor-made Required Navigation Performance Authorization Required (RNP AR) procedures at two terrain-challenged airports, Ambon and Manado, pioneering the use of RNP precision navigation technology in Southeast Asia.
Conservative estimates of CO2 emissions savings due to EoR operations at Denver International Airport exceed 1 billion tons as of 2024.
Similar to Denver, it was implemented over three years at Calgary International Airport, lowering the final approach requirement from 20 to 4 mi (32.2 to 6.4 km), before reaching trajectory-based operations.
The RNP type defines the total system error that is allowed in lateral and longitudinal dimensions within a particular airspace.
However, in contrast, the NSE distribution varies over time due to a number of changing characteristics, most notably: Although the TSE can change significantly over time for a number of reasons, including those above, the RNP navigation specifications provide assurance that the TSE distribution remains suitable to the operation.
A performance monitoring alert will be issued when the system cannot guarantee, with sufficient integrity, that the position meets the accuracy requirement.
Assuming the desired track has been flown correctly, the FTE would be within the required limits and therefore the likelihood of the TSE exceeding twice the accuracy value just prior to the alert is approximately 10−5.
At present, continental RNAV applications support airspace specifications which include radar surveillance and direct controller-to-pilot voice communications.
RNP AR criteria for obstacle evaluation are flexible and designed to adapt to unique operational environments.
The operational requirement can include avoiding terrain and obstacles, de-conflicting airspace or resolving environmental constraints.
RNP approaches include capabilities that require special aircraft and aircrew authorization similar to category II/III ILS operations.
Manual or automated notification of an aircraft's qualification to operate along an air traffic services (ATS) route, on a procedure or in an airspace is provided to ATC via the flight plan.
