Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Chris Catalano

What is TACAN?

Recommended Posts

In the list of approaches on the Arrivals page in the FMC, I often see something that says TACAN (then RWY X). What is this, what does it stand for, & how does it differ from the other approaches? I know what ILS approaches are, and VOR, VORDME, but I am not sure what this one is. Also, what does RNAV stand for on the approach page. & is this yet ANOTHER type of approach?Thanks for the help.Chris Catalano

Share this post


Link to post

TACtical Air NavigationRNAV"Area Navigation (RNAV) can be defined as a method of navigation that permits aircraft operation on any desired course within the coverage of station-referenced navigation signals or within the limits of a self contained system capability, or a combination of these.RNAV was developed to provide more lateral freedom and thus more complete use of available airspace. This method of navigation does not require a track directly to or from any specific radio navigation aid, and has three principal applications: A route structure can be organized between any given departure and arrival point to reduce flight distance and traffic separation; Aircraft can be flown into terminal areas on varied pre-programmed arrival and departure paths to expedite traffic flow; and Instrument approaches can be developed and certified at certain airports, without local instrument landing aids at that airport. Navigation systems which provide RNAV capability include VOR/DME, DME/DME, LORAN C, GPS, OMEGA and self contained Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) or Inertial Reference Systems (IRS)."Andy B

Share this post


Link to post

TACAN is a UHF military variant of a civilian VOR/DME. A VORTAC is a combination of both a VOR/DME and a TACAN. Functionally, they are essentially the same to the pilot except instead of frequencies, TACAN uses channels. The only significant functional difference is that holding directly over a TACAN is prohibited due to the wider cone of confusion.RegardsBob ScottATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-V L-300Washington, D.C.


Bob Scott | President and CEO, AVSIM Inc
ATP Gulfstream II-III-IV-V

System1 (P3Dv5/v4): i9-13900KS @ 6.0GHz, water 2x360mm, ASUS Z790 Hero, 32GB GSkill 7800MHz CAS36, ASUS RTX4090
Samsung 55" JS8500 4K TV@30Hz,
3x 2TB WD SN850X 1x 4TB Crucial P3 M.2 NVME SSD, EVGA 1600T2 PSU, 1.2Gbps internet
Fiber link to Yamaha RX-V467 Home Theater Receiver, Polk/Klipsch 6" bookshelf speakers, Polk 12" subwoofer, 12.9" iPad Pro
PFC yoke/throttle quad/pedals with custom Hall sensor retrofit, Thermaltake View 71 case, Stream Deck XL button box

Sys2 (MSFS/XPlane): i9-10900K @ 5.1GHz, 32GB 3600/15, nVidia RTX4090FE, Alienware AW3821DW 38" 21:9 GSync, EVGA 1000P2
Thrustmaster TCA Boeing Yoke, TCA Airbus Sidestick, 2x TCA Airbus Throttle quads, PFC Cirrus Pedals, Coolermaster HAF932 case

Portable Sys3 (P3Dv4/FSX/DCS): i9-9900K @ 5.0 Ghz, Noctua NH-D15, 32GB 3200/16, EVGA RTX3090, Dell S2417DG 24" GSync
Corsair RM850x PSU, TM TCA Officer Pack, Saitek combat pedals, TM Warthog HOTAS, Coolermaster HAF XB case

Share this post


Link to post

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  
  • Tom Allensworth,
    Founder of AVSIM Online


  • Flight Simulation's Premier Resource!

    AVSIM is a free service to the flight simulation community. AVSIM is staffed completely by volunteers and all funds donated to AVSIM go directly back to supporting the community. Your donation here helps to pay our bandwidth costs, emergency funding, and other general costs that crop up from time to time. Thank you for your support!

    Click here for more information and to see all donations year to date.
×
×
  • Create New...