A theodolite control program for the acquisition of MLS flight check aircraft

by Matthews, John V.

The Ohio University MLS Evaluation and Data Collection System utilizes the manual tracking of flight measurement aircraft with a motorized theodolite. One of the most important phases of the flight evaluation of an MLS facility is the acquisition phase, in which the theodolite must be centered on the aircraft at a distance greater than ten miles. This paper describes the development of a theodolite control program intended to place the aircraft within the theodolite field of view automatically using information available from the MLS system being evaluated. This will significantly reduce the theodolite operator workload at a difficult phase of the flight evaluation procedure.