Terrain profile system

A method for generating a terrain profile for an aircraft, the method comprising:

• storing map data and digital terrain and elevation data (DTED) associated with a geographic region of interest in a memory;
• displaying a map associated with the map data on a display system associated with a human-machine interface (HMI);
• facilitating user inputs associated with defining a non-linear planned flight path of an aircraft between two points on the map, and with defining flight characteristic data associated with the aircraft;
• generating a terrain profile that includes an aggregate topography of terrain features of the geographic region of interest within a path-width corridor along the non-linear planned flight path based on the user inputs defining the planned flight path and the DTED;
• generating a planned altitude of the aircraft along the non-linear planned flight path based on the flight characteristic data;
• facilitating user inputs associated with defining a start line and an end line on the terrain profile generating a sub-terrain profile comprising a finer granular profile of the terrain profile for a portion of the planned flight path defined in a bounding window bounded by the start line and an the end line on the terrain profile;
• generating on the map a start point and an end point defining a sub-route of the planned flight path, corresponding to the start line and end line, in response to the start line and end line defined on the terrain profile;
• and displaying the terrain profile comprising the terrain signature, the planned altitude relative to the terrain signature, a real-time location of the aircraft superimposed on the planned altitude based on real-time location data associated with the aircraft on the display system associated with the HMI, and the sub-terrain profile;
• wherein the HMI controls the aircraft in real-time according to the user inputs.

A terrain profile system comprising:

• a data store that includes a memory to store map data associated with a geographic region of interest, and to store digital terrain and elevation data (DTED) associated with the geographic region of interest;
• a terrain profile controller that generates a terrain profile comprising a terrain signature associated with a topography of terrain features of the geographic region of interest along a nonlinear planned flight path of an aircraft based on user inputs defining the non-linear planned flight path and the DTED and that defines a planned altitude of the aircraft along the non-linear planned flight path based on flight characteristic data;
• and a human-machine interface (HMI) comprising:
• a route input system that receives the user inputs defining the non-linear planned flight path of the aircraft between two points on a map associated with the map data and with defining the flight characteristic data associated with the aircraft, and that receives a user-selected start and end line on the terrain profile;
• a sub-route generator that receives the user-selected start and end line to generate a sub-terrain profile comprising a finer granular profile of the terrain profile for a portion of the planned flight path that is bounded by a bounding window having the start line and the end line on the terrain profile;
• and a display system that displays the map, a start point and an end point defining a sub-route of the planned flight path on the map that corresponds to the start line and end line on the terrain profile, the real-time location of the aircraft superimposed on the nonlinear planned flight path on the map based on real-time location data associated with the aircraft, the terrain profile comprising the terrain signature, the planned altitude relative to the terrain signature, a real-time location of the aircraft superimposed on the planned altitude based on the real-time location data associated with the aircraft, and the sub-terrain profile;
• wherein the HMI controls the aircraft in real-time according to the user inputs.