Precision Approach Radar (PAR) and Magnetic Declination
Combined Ops Airspace is thrilled to announce the rollout of a powerful new feature for its air traffic control suite: a highly realistic and functional Precision Approach Radar (PAR) display. Designed to provide unparalleled accuracy and real-time situational awareness during critical phases of flight, this addition significantly enhances the capabilities of virtual Air Traffic Controllers and flight operations within the Combined Ops environment.
Precision at Your Fingertips: The New PAR Display
The new PAR display offers a comprehensive visual representation of incoming aircraft, providing essential guidance for instrument approaches, even in zero-visibility conditions. Key features include:
Dual View System: The display is divided into two intuitive views:
- Azimuth Display: This horizontal view provides real-time lateral guidance, showing the aircraft's deviation from the runway centerline. Controllers can precisely monitor left/right adjustments, ensuring the aircraft stays perfectly aligned with the approach path.
- Elevation Display: The vertical view offers critical altitude guidance, illustrating the aircraft's position relative to the ideal glide slope. This allows controllers to direct pilots to correct for high/low deviations, maintaining the optimal descent profile.
Real-time Data and Visual Precision: Aircraft blips are rendered with dynamic accuracy, including a subtle "trail" to indicate past positions, allowing for clear trend analysis. Key aircraft information such as callsign, altitude (MSL), and airspeed are prominently displayed.
Dynamic Scaling: Controllers can adjust the display range (3NM, 5NM, 10NM) to suit different phases of the approach, providing a tailored view as the aircraft progresses towards touchdown.
Interactive Glide Slope & Decision Height Adjustment: Controllers now have direct control over the approach parameters. They can dynamically adjust the Glide Slope angle in 0.5° increments and the Decision Height in 50ft increments using dedicated on-screen controls, allowing for tailored approach profiles to suit specific mission requirements or aircraft types.
Essential Visual Aids: The display incorporates fixed reference lines for the runway centerline, glide slope, and predefined deviation angles (e.g., 1.25°, 2.5°, 5.0° lateral, and vertical angles), along with the Decision Height (DH) indicator, offering clear visual cues for precise control.
This new PAR display empowers controllers with the tools needed to guide aircraft safely and efficiently, significantly increasing the realism and challenge of air traffic management within Combined Ops Airspace.
Initial PAR Deployment Airfields
In this initial release, the Precision Approach Radar (PAR) display is active and fully functional at the following key bases across various scenarios:
Caucasus Map: Anapa Vityazevo, Gudauta, Novorossiysk, Tbilisi - Vaziani
NTTR Map: Creech AFB, Groom Lake AFB, Nellis AFB
Sinai Map: Al Bahr AL Ahmar, As Salihiyah, Beni Suef, El Minya, Hatzerim, Hatzor, Sharm El Sheikh
If you need PAR functionality at another base not currently listed, please submit your request through our official Discord server. We are committed to expanding this feature based on community needs and feedback.
True or Magnetic Heading Support
In a significant upgrade for navigation capabilities, Combined Ops Airspace now provides the flexibility to utilize either True Heading or Magnetic Heading for aircraft display and navigation, Bullseye, BRAA and other features.
This feature ensures greater accuracy and adaptability for various flight scenarios:
Accurate Magnetic Declination: The system incorporates the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF-14) model to precisely calculate the magnetic declination for any given geographic location and mission date. This ensures that aircraft headings displayed or used for calculations accurately reflect the local magnetic environment, providing historical fidelity for all DCS World scenarios.
Seamless Conversion: Whether you prefer to work with true or magnetic bearings, our system ensures seamless conversion between the two, making mission planning and execution more flexible.
Combined Ops Airspace is committed to delivering the most authentic and feature-rich simulation experience. The new PAR display, coupled with precise magnetic heading support, marks another significant step forward in achieving this goal. We invite all pilots and controllers to experience these exciting new capabilities and elevate their virtual aviation adventures!
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