Mike DiBenedetto

Mike DiBenedetto is a Senior Research Program Engineer at Ohio University and earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Ohio University in 1999. He has twenty-nine years of experience in navigation, landing and surveillance systems development, assessment, implementation, procurement and modernization. He has published three journal articles, fourteen conference papers, and over 131 externally sponsored technical reports; many form the basis of, or have influenced, national and international standards and practices for electronic navigation and landing systems. He has conducted extensive analytical and field studies to develop siting criteria for the Microwave Landing System (MLS). This work included characterizing the effect of MLS antenna structures on the Instrument Landing System (ILS) signal-in-space, as well as validating both a computer-based MLS mathematical model and the critical/sensitive area criteria contained in ICAO Annex 10. He had a key role in the development and application of flight test procedures for evaluation of the Bell-Textron Mobile MLS. This work included installation, tune-up, and flight evaluations of various ILS and MLS equipment configurations and analysis of the resulting flight recordings. His experience with Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) dates back to his work under the FAA MLS program (1985), and he is still active in this area today as a DME subject matter expert for the FAA supporting acquisition, implementation, and FAA Next Generation Air Transportation System activities and initiatives. His experience with satellite-based technologies includes the installation, tune-up, and long-term evaluation/operation of a Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) ground facility at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) during 1999-2001. Under the sponsorship of FAA Flight Inspection Services, recent efforts include studies focusing on the development and/or revision of flight inspection criteria for satellite-based systems (GPS, WAAS, LAAS) and surveillance systems such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast and Airport Surface Detection Equipment.