EGNOS extension to Eastern Europe. Trail Flights in Republic of Moldova

Abstract

This paper present the preparation procedure and results of flight trials conducted in the frame of FP7 Project EEGS2 «EGNOS Extension to Eastern Europe: Applications» in order to demonstrate possibility of EGNOS extension to Eastern Europe in the field of aeronautics by using the magicSBAS message generated by GMV Aerospace and Defence (Madrid, Spain). The analyses of trail flights results show the Horizontal Protection Level (HPL) and Vertical Protection Level (VPL) are fitting International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements. Evaluation of the aircraft landing accuracy using L1 GNSS receiver in comparison with post-processing kinematic measurements using L1/L2 GNSS receiver on board during trail flights had shown around 2 meters of Horizontal Position Error (HPE) and around 5 meters of Vertical Position Error (VPE). The results of this activity will provide to the pilots and service providers a clear idea of the performances and benefits that will be obtained with EGNOS and procedures that will be flown in the coming future.