GPS/WAAS Scorecard

Did you know that GPS performance worldwide is continuously evaluated in great detail, to make sure the system remains safe and reliable for use by everyone? In 1999, the FAA began publishing quarterly Performance Analysis Reports on the basic Standard Positioning Service (SPS) that is provided by GPS. Lets take a look at some performance information critical to pilots. The latest report covers April 1 to June 30, 2013, and well look at some of…

Editorial Staff

Thursday, July 31, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The FAA's quarterly GPS performance reports consistently demonstrate high availability and accuracy for the Standard Positioning Service (SPS) and WAAS, frequently exceeding minimum required standards.
GPS accuracy can be degraded by various factors including satellite geometry (PDOP), natural phenomena like solar activity and magnetic storms, and man-made interference such as other radio signals or jamming.
Despite potential degradation factors and occasional outages (both scheduled for maintenance and unscheduled), the GPS system maintained high overall availability (99.97% for April-June 2013), with users informed via NANUs and NOTAMs.
WAAS significantly enhances GPS performance, providing highly reliable LPV approach services with robust integrity, having recorded no "Hazardously Misleading Information" (HMI) events since its public release.

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Did you know that GPS performance worldwide is continuously evaluated in great detail, to make sure the system remains safe and reliable for use by everyone? In 1999, the FAA began publishing quarterly Performance Analysis Reports on the basic Standard Positioning Service (SPS) that is provided by GPS. Let’s take a look at some performance information critical to pilots. The latest report covers April 1 to June 30, 2013, and we’ll look at some of that information.