Thales

Loïc Charles

François Coulmeau

Jérôme Sacle

Emmanuel Dewas

Pierre-Alain Dubourg

A flight management system of an aircraft is provided allowing notably the calculation of a trajectory over the terrestrial globe. The calculation of a trajectory is carried out with respect to a true North, true North being a navigation term referring to the direction of the geographical North pole with respect to a given position. When the current or estimated position of the aircraft is level with the pole, it then becomes impossible to define true North, true North being defined in all the directions or in no direction, depending on the calculation facilities used. The flight management system makes it possible to use a single calculation procedure whatever the current position or the position to be reached of the aircraft on the terrestrial globe.

Flight management system having trajectory calculation

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

An FMS flight management computer equipping an aerodyne, complies with a constraint, in particular an altitude constraint, of the flight plan (Dpv) at an imposed waypoint close to the position of the aerodyne at the moment of instigation of its automatic flight plan following function. It consists in validating, in advance, such a constraint by projecting itself into a near future by way of a forecast (Pt) of the displacement of the aerodyne taking account of the motion of the aerodyne during the transition between the instances of application of the flight presets prevailing before the instigation of the automatic following function and those newly provided by the FMS flight computer () during this instigation.

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Toulouse, France

Loïc Charles