Landing approaches and landings themselves are among the most difficult stages of a flight. Today so-called “instrument landing systems“ (ILS) are standard equipment at any modern airport. They even permit landings under zero visibility conditions.
Instrument landing systems consist of four geographically separate components: a localiser, a glide path transmitter and two marker beacons that indicate the aircraft’s distance from the runway. The localiser and glide path transmitter transmit glide path planes offset at 90° into the aircraft’s approach path. Ideally, the aircraft should be at the intersection of the two planes during every phase of the approach.
