This paper discusses the application of inertial navigation and guidance systems in civil air transport operations from the systems engineering viewpoint. The concept of an operational system for navigation and guidance is introduced to facilitate consideration of the relationships which will exist between the inertial system and the operating functions necessary for the conduct of a flight. Inertial system configurations satisfying the requirements implied by these relationships are presented. The general requirements for input data panels and system output displays for all flight phases are discussed. A discussion of system mechanization considerations and estimate of system performance requirements conclude the paper.

The actual conduct of an airline flight requires the performance of a number of distinct operational functions. The totality of these functions constitutes the complete operational system for the flight. The functions which are of interest in the present study are those directly related to establishing and maintaining the desired flight path. These constitute the operational system for command and guidance which can be viewed as a sub-system of the complete operational system. For simplicity, however, the command and guidance operational system will be referred to hereafter as the operational system.