The assessment of aircraft positioning accuracy using gps data in rtk-otf technique

The article presents the results of the research studies assessing the accuracy of determining the position of an aircraft using the differential RTK-OTF technique in the post-processing mode. The data for the research test come from an in-flight test in which a Cessna 172 aircraft was used, and which was conducted around the EPDE military airport in Dęblin, Poland. The position of the Cessna 172 aircraft was retrieved in the ASOS v.2.0 program for 3 independent RTK measurements in the OTF positioning mode. For the purposes of the numerical calculations, GPS observations from the REF1 reference station were used, and from two virtual stations, VirA and VirB, as well as from a rover GNSS receiver mounted onboard the Cessna 172 aircraft. The research test also included the presentation and comparison of the results of the aircraft position error in 3D space – the MRSE parameter. The average MRSE error value for the REF1-Cessna base solution is over 0.03 m. The average MRSE error value for the VirA-Cessna base solution is, in turn, below 0.03 m. Moreover, the average MRSE error value for the VirA-Cessna base solution is also below 0.03 m. The article also presents the difference in MRSE parameter values from individual RTK solutions in the OTF mode.