Navigation instruments are often used to guide aircraft, including unmanned air vehicles, especially during the more difficult maneuvers such as landing, takeoff and emergency situations. These instruments may be used with an Instrument Landing System (ILS) that is ground-based at the ground control station and runway and help guide an aircraft to approach and land, using a combination of radio (RF) signals and perhaps high-intensity light beams. The ground control station transmits the RF signals that are received by an aircraft's antennas and receiver electronics connected to the antenna. Ideally, signals are received on the aircraft using an antenna with an omnidirectional gain pattern.
However, the design or location of the antennas may be such that they cannot receive signals omnidirectionally. Also, an aircraft's electrically-conductive body or frame can partially obstruct, distort or reflect electromagnetic signals from certain directions. For example, an ILS localizer antenna located near the nose of an aircraft may receive signals well in the forward direction but have limitations when receiving signals from the aft. By contrast, a very high frequency (VHF) omnidirectional radio range (VOR) antenna located on the back tail of an aircraft may have a blind spot in receiving signals from the forward direction. Ideally, it is desired to maintain contact with a ground control station regardless of the orientation of the aircraft. However, because a ground control station may be located in an arbitrary location with respect to an aircraft, the particular antenna on the aircraft used for receiving ground control station signals will not always be optimally oriented to receive those signals as the aircraft maneuvers. Consequently, there is a need in the art for improved systems and methods for managing aircraft navigation communication.