System and method for social networking of aircraft for information exchange

Abstract

A system and method for exchanging information between aircraft (210). Sensors on a first aircraft (210) provide data about the first aircraft's environment, including hazards such as turbulence, icing, lightning, or birds. The system transmits the data to receiving systems in other aircraft (210), which display the data, to warn the pilots flying the other aircraft of potential hazards. The pilot of the first aircraft may supplement the information with visual observations, about birds or unmanned aerial vehicles, for example. In one embodiment, the information is transmitted from aircraft to aircraft over a data link using ADS-B. In another embodiment, a first aircraft may transmit data to a second aircraft, which may relay, or re-transmit, the data to a third aircraft.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.