Instrument landing system

In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows a pilot, through a cockpit mounted instrument in the aircraft that displays lateral and vertical guidance indications (needles), to approach until the aircraft is 200 feet (61 m) over the ground, within 1⁄2 mile (800 m) of the runway. At that point the runway should be visible to the pilot; if it is not, they perform a missed approach. Bringing the aircraft this close to the runway dramatically increases the range of weather conditions in which a safe landing can be made. Other versions of the system, or "categories", have further reduced the minimum altitudes, runway visual ranges (RVRs), and transmitter and monitoring configurations designed depending on the normal expected weather patterns and airport safety requirements.

ILS uses two directional radio signals, the localizer (108 to 112 MHz frequency), which provides horizontal guidance, and the glideslope (329.15 to 335 MHz frequency) for vertical guidance. The relationship between the aircraft's position and these signals is displayed on an aircraft instrument, often as additional pointers in the attitude indicator. The pilot attempts to maneuver the aircraft to keep the indicators centered while they approach the runway to the decision height. Optional marker beacon(s) provide distance information as the approach proceeds, including the middle marker (MM), placed close to the position of the (CAT 1) decision height. Markers are largely being phased out and replaced by distance measuring equipment (DME). To aid the transition from instrument landing to visual, lighting on the runway is often extended towards the decision point using a series of high-intensity lights known as the approach lighting system.

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