Thales

Other

Jérôme Sacle

François Coulmeau

Christophe Caillaud

Manuel Gutierrez-Castaneda

Cédric D'Silva

Guy Deker

Michel Roger

Emmanuel Dewas

Johan Boyer

Nicolas Rossi

Benoît Dacre-Wright

Geoffrey Durand

Bertrand Barnetche

Loïc Charles

Stéphanie Fortier

Julien Klotz

Lionel Verot

Phillipe Cambon

Marion Chaillou

Fabien Chovin

In the field of air navigation, a computer-implemented method includes loading an initial active flight plan for an aircraft comprising a first approach procedure to a runway up to a missed approach point ending between the missed approach point and a final point; loading a secondary flight plan comprising an approach procedure to the runway between the missed approach point and the runway, and a second missed approach procedure at the end of the approach, and ending at a second final point; receiving an instruction from an operator of the aircraft to link the initial active flight plan and the secondary flight plan; in the event of a go-around by the operator at the latest at the missed approach point, activating the missed approach procedure; otherwise, automatically selecting the secondary flight plan as active flight plan and activating the second approach.

Automatic selection of an aircraft flight plan in the approach phase

Methods and devices for optimizing the climb of an aircraft or drone are provided. After an optimal continuous climb strategy has been determined, a lateral path is determined, in particular in terms of speeds and turn radii, based on vertical predictions computed in the previous step. Subsequently, computation results are displayed on one or more human-machine interfaces and the climb strategy is actually flown. Embodiments describe the use of altitude and speed constraints and/or settings in respect of speed and/or thrust and/or level-flight avoidance and/or gradient-variation minimization, and iteratively fitting parameters in order to make the profile of the current path coincide with the constrained profile in real time depending on the selected flight dynamics (e.g. energy sharing, constraint on climb gradient, constraint on the vertical climb rate). System (e.g. FMS) and software aspects are described.

Method for managing the continuous climb of an aircraft or drone

An aid method for piloting an aircraft including acquiring an instruction intended to alter the flight plan, determining an applicability period of the instruction made up of a plurality of applicability moments of the instruction in which the application of the instruction is compatible with the operational capabilities of the aircraft and with the constraints of the flight plan, for each applicability moment of the instruction, determining an altered flight plan in case of application of the instruction at this applicability moment and calculating values of the operational parameters associated with this flight plan, and selecting an optimal applicability moment based on values of the operational parameters associated with the altered flight plan and operational parameters associated with the current flight plan.

Aid method for piloting an aircraft, associated computer progam product and aid device for piloting

A method for determining a minimum-thrust descent and rejoining profile in respect of a target point by an aircraft comprises a first step of computing an energy differential of the aircraft in the air &#x394;Ebetween a first initial state of the aircraft at an initial geodesic point Qi and a second final state of the aircraft at the final arrival target point Qf. The method comprises a second step of adjusting an adjustable modelled profile of altitude h(t) and of air speed Va(t) of the aircraft with the aid of parameters so the adjusted modelled profile of altitude h(t) and of air speed Va(t) of the aircraft ensures the consumption of the variation of energy of the aircraft in the air &#x394;Ein a fixed required timespan &#x394;tand a fixed required altitude variation t&#x2212;tin the required time timespan, the aircraft operating permanently in an engine regime with constant and minimum thrust. The method comprises a third step of determining a lateral geodesic trajectory of the aircraft on the basis of the adjusted altitude profile h(t), of the adjusted air speed profile Va(t) and of the knowledge of the speeds of the winds in the aircraft's scheduled geographical traversal zone.

Method and system for determining a minimum-thrust synchronous descent and rejoining profile for an aircraft

A method and system is provided for determining the compatibility of an approach, to a landing runway, with an angular guidance mode, the approach being compatible with a linear guidance mode, the angular guidance being characterized by a lateral angle of precision, the linear guidance being characterized by a lateral divergence of precision. The method is implemented on a flight management system deployed aboard an aircraft and comprising a first step of determining a first distance representative of a maximum distance of use of the angular guidance, on the basis of the lateral angle of precision and of the lateral divergence of precision.

Method and system for determining the compatibility of an angular guidance with an approach

A method for calculating a flight plan used by a flight management system of an aircraft in a runway approach phase comprises: loading an initial procedure ending at a first end point not corresponding to a threshold of the runway and a first associated missed approach procedure; determining an additional procedure and a second associated missed approach procedure; concatenating the initial procedure and the additional procedure in order to generate a continuous concatenated flight plan comprising the initial procedure, the first missed approach procedure, the additional procedure and the second missed approach procedure; loading the concatenated flight plan into an active flight plan; selecting a second procedure from a set comprising the first missed approach procedure and the additional procedure; activating the selected second procedure.

Method and device for calculating a flight plan of an aircraft in a runway approach phase

The method concerns monitoring the approach phase of an aircraft to a runway. This method includes determining successive gateways of the aircraft relative to at least one characteristic point of an approach flight plan of the aircraft or relative to the landing location, and measuring the aircraft speed upon crossing a given gateway. The method further comprises computing a minimum deceleration distance up to a predetermined target speed associated with the gateway following said given gateway, the minimum deceleration distance being an estimated flight distance corresponding to the speed reduction of the aircraft from the measured speed to said target speed; comparing the computed minimum deceleration distance with the distance remaining to be flow to the following gateway; and generating an alert, intended for the aircraft crew, when the distance remaining to be flown to the following gateway is smaller than the computed minimum deceleration distance.

Method and system for monitoring aircraft flight phase on approach to a runway

The invention relates to a device for assisting in the choice of a diversion airport for an aircraft piloted by a crew (), said aircraft comprising a flight management system including location means () calculating the position of the aircraft, said device comprising a navigation database () and a performance database () of the aircraft, said device being characterized in that it comprises a company database () comprising airports and characteristics of said airports, means () of calculating a list of airports, called candidate airports, from the airports in the company database, from the navigation database and from the selected characteristics by the crew,  means () for calculating remaining flight time and fuel consumption predictions for each of the candidate airports from the position of the aircraft, from weather conditions and from the performance database, and an interface giving the favored airports for diversion according to pre-established criteria or determined in real time using the interface.

Device for assisting in the choice of a diversion airport

Method of formulating a lateral flight trajectory for the rejoining by an aircraft () of a trajectory of a flight plan () comprising a plurality of waypoints (), the aircraft () flying outside of the flight plan () and according to a divergent track with respect to the trajectory of the flight plan (), characterized in that the method: Advantageously, the flight trajectory formulation method allows the application of speed and/or altitude constraints to the aircraft () taking into account speed and/or altitude constraints imposed along the trajectory of the flight plan ().

Method of short-term rejoining of a flight plan by radar guidance of an aircraft

A device for aiding the flight management of an aircraft includes a navigation display, a personalized database capable of storing navigation-aid data, each datum comprising a classification type representative of a family or of one or more categories of navigation-aid data, one or more periods of validity of the said datum, information relating to at least one geographic zone of the said datum, one graphic and/or textual representation of the said datum, selection means allowing an operator to choose one (or more) type(s) of classification, called selected type(s), extraction means capable of extracting from the personalized database the navigation-aid datum or data called extracted data of which the type is equal to at least one selected type, of which at least one geographic zone is situated at a distance, from the flight plan or from the aircraft, that is less than a predetermined maximum distance and of which at least one period of validity verifies a predefined display time criterion, the said extraction means transmitting the said extracted datum or data to the said navigation display capable of displaying the representations of the said extracted data.

Device for aiding the flight management of an aircraft

A method is provided for assisting in rejoining a vertical descent trajectory that an aircraft is assumed to have to follow, using a flight management system FMS embedded onboard the aircraft, and includes the following steps: calculation of a vertical deviation VDEV, in the vertical plane, between the aircraft and the vertical descent trajectory, and comparison between the vertical deviation VDEV and a predetermined deviation threshold SVDEV; when the vertical deviation VDEV reaches the deviation threshold SVDEV, a step during which the activation of an optimized mode for catching up on the vertical descent trajectory is authorized; if the optimized mode for catching up on the vertical descent trajectory is activated, piloting of the aircraft by the flight management system FMS in optimized catch-up mode, that is to say at minimum thrust with a target rejoining speed in level VCRP and a target rejoining speed in downward trajectory, the target rejoining speed in level VCRP being equal to the maximum L/D ratio speed of the aircraft uprated by a first value Vof between 5 and 15 knots, and the target rejoining speed in downward trajectory VCRD being equal to the maximum operating speed VMO with which the aircraft is allowed to fly downrated by a second value Vof between 3 and 10 knots, a knot being equal to 0.514 ms.

Method for assisting in rejoining a vertical descent trajectory and associated device

The method of generating a secure flight plan portion in the event of depressurization corresponding to a time-conditioned descent profile that may include a succession of levels, comprises:

Method of constructing a vertical profile in the event of depressurization in an area with risks and associated devices

A method is disclosed for plotting a trajectory portion (&#x2033;), using flight management means of an aircraft, and linking a known position () of the aircraft to a point in space (), denoted the 'exit point'. A circular arc is defined, the coordinates of whose centre () are known, comprising two ends () of known coordinates, one end of which is the exit point (). The position of a transition point () is determined which is situated on the arc. The trajectory (&#x2033;) by the flight management means of the aircraft is automatically plotted. The trajectory is successively linking the known position () of the aircraft, and the transition point () and the exit point ().

Method of plotting a portion of trajectory of an aircraft comprising a circular arc of constant radius

The invention relates to a method for automatic detection of turbulence by a second aircraft, by information exchange between the second aircraft and at least a first aircraft. The first aircraft has means for transmitting information and the second aircraft has means for receiving the information transmitted by the first aircraft. The method includes the identification of information about turbulence liable to be encountered by the second aircraft, by analyzing the information received from the first aircraft. An alarm is activated on the basis of the turbulence information.

Automatic turbulence detection method

The method of optimizing the exit of an aircraft traversing for a known duration (D) a holding circuit forming a racecourse comprising two parallel branches of the same distance, the branches being traversed in a first time (t), and two arcs of the same radius linking respectively the ends of each branch, the two arcs being traversed in a second time (t), the holding circuit comprising an exit point situated at the end of one of the branches is characterized in that the distance of the branches of the holding circuit for the last two loops performed are adjusted so that the aircraft is substantially in proximity to the exit point when the duration (D) has elapsed.

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Toulouse, France

Jérôme Sacle