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US 8,275,501 B2Granted
Method and device for aiding the piloting of an aircraft during a landing
AssigneeAirbus Operations GmbH
InventorFabrice Villaume
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed is a method and device for aiding the piloting on an aircraft during a landing phase. One of the landing runways of an airport onto which the aircraft is to land is determined by a runway determination device. A position determining unit is used to determine a current position of the aircraft in a reference frame. A minimum breaking distance is estimated by an estimation unit, upon the aircraft passing above tje determined landing runway. The minimum braking distance is compared by a distance comparison unit with a length of the determined landing runway, and an alert is emitted by an alert unit, when said minimum braking distance is greater than the length of said determined landing runway.
Claims19
A method for aiding the piloting of an aircraft during a landing phase at an airport having a plurality of landing runways, the method comprising:
- a) determining by a runway determination device one of said landing runways onto which to land the aircraft;
- b) determining characteristics of the landing runway determined in step a);
- c) determining by a position determining unit a current position of the aircraft in a reference frame related to said determined landing runway;
- and
- d) estimating by an estimation unit, upon the aircraft passing a given height above said determined landing runway, minimum braking distance, wherein the estimation unit:
- calculates by an aerial phase distance calculator a distance APD which relates to an aerial phase above the determined landing runway, wherein the calculator calculates the distance APD with aid of a current position of the aircraft with respect to a standard descent plane and the distance APD corresponds to distance covered in the aerial phase by the aircraft at tru air speed for a given duration,
- calculates by a ground distance calculator a distance GPD of ground distance between ground touchdown by the aircraft and definitive stopping of said aircraft with aid of said performance model, wherein the distance GPD is calculated using a performance model of the aircraft, which is calibrated on maximum operational braking capabilities and the distance GPD depends on aerodynamic position of slats and flaps of the aircraft during landing, and
- computes by a summation computer a sum of said distances APD and GPD and deduces therefrom said minimum braking distance;
- comparing by a distance comparison unit the minimum braking distance with a length of said determined landing runway;
- and
- emitting an alert by an alert unit, when said minimum braking distance is greater than the length of said determined landing runway, wherein the alert is automatically emitted in a flight deck of the aircraft and inform a crew that aircraft braking capability is not be sufficient to stop the aircraft safely on said landing runway, wherein said minimum braking distance is estimated in accordance with standard descent plane towards said landing runway and of a performance model of the aircraft which is calibrated on maximum operational braking capabilities of the aircraft.
8 more elements
A device for aiding the piloting of an aircraft during a landing phase at an airport having a plurality of landing runways, said device comprising:
- a runway determination device configured to determine, during the landing phase, one of said landing runways on which to land the aircraft;
- database configured to characteristics of the determined landing runway;
- position determining unit that determines a current position of the aircraft in a reference frame related to said determined landing runway;
- estimation unit configured to estimate upon the aircraft passing a given height above said determined landing runway, a minimum braking distance which represents aircraft stopping distance on the determined landing runway, wherein the estimation unit comprises:
- an aerial phase distance calculator configured to calculate a distance APD which relates to an aerial phase above the determined landing runway, wherein the calculator calculates the distance APD with aid of a current position of the aircraft with respect to a standard descent plane and the distance APD corresponds to distance covered in the aerial phase by the aircraft at tru air speed for a given duration,
- a ground distance calculator configured to calculate a distance GPD of ground distance between ground touchdown by the aircraft and definitive stopping of said aircraft with aid of said performance model. wherein the distance GPD is calculated using a performance model of the aircraft. which is calibrated on maximum operational braking capabilities and the distance GPD depends on aerodynamic position of slats and flaps of the aircraft during landing, and
- summation computer that computes a sum of said distances APD and GPD and deduces therefrom said minimum braking distance;
- distance comparison unit configured to comparing the estimated minimum braking distance with a length of said determined landing runway;
- and
- alert unit configured to emit automatically and simultaneously a visual alert and an audible alert in a flight deck of the aircraft and inform a crew that aircraft braking capability is not be sufficient to stop the aircraft safely on said landing runway, said alert unit further configured to activate when said minimum braking distance is greater than the length of said determined landing runway,
- wherein said estimation unit is further configured to estimate said minimum braking distance in accordance with a standard descent plane towards said landing runway and of a performance model of the aircraft which is calibrated on maximum operational braking capabilities of the aircraft.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.