The Boeing Company

Luis P D'Alto

Marco La Civita

Miguel Angel Vilaplana Ruiz

Javier Lopez

Javier Lopez Leones

Francisco A Navarro

Ernesto Valls Hernandez

Carlos Querejeta

Miguel Vilaplana

David Garrido-Lopez

Enrique Juan Casado Magaña

Pablo Costas Alvarez

Francisco Garcia De Blanes

Ramon Gomez Ledesma

Christian Grabow

Ruben Vega Astorga

Andrés Muñoz Hernández

Anthony Weatherington

Francisco García De Blanes

Alicia Grech

David Garrido-lopez

Francisco Navarro

Ernesto Valls

Ramon Gomez-Ledesma

A system that includes an ingress module arranged to receive flight data having a descent rate value and an altitude value. The system also has a data store with descent rate threshold values of at least one aircraft model. The descent rate threshold values are associated, in the data store, with pressure altitude values. The system also includes a descent classification module that is operably coupled to the ingress module and the data store. The descent classification module is adapted to compare the descent rate value with the descent rate threshold values. The system additionally includes an alert module adapted to provide, in response to the descent classification module comparing the descent rate value that exceeds at least one of the descent rate threshold values, an alert signal to a graphic user interface that is operably coupled to the alert module.

Methods and apparatus for monitoring aircraft descent rates

Techniques for estimating the impact of new operational conditions in a baseline air traffic scenario are described. For at least one flight, embodiments infer an aircraft intent that fits corresponding flight track data. A reconstructed trajectory is computed using the inferred aircraft intent. For at least one flight in an alternative air traffic scenario, an aircraft intent that fits new operational conditions is generated. The new operational conditions include a new air traffic management operation and a new air traffic procedure, and the generated aircraft intent conforms to the new air traffic management operation and the new air traffic procedure. Embodiments compute a generated trajectory of the at least one flight in the alternative air traffic scenario using the generated aircraft intent and compute trajectory-based analytics on each computed trajectory of the baseline and alternative air traffic scenarios using a set of metrics.

Computer-implemented method and system for estimating impact of new operational conditions in a baseline air traffic scenario

A method may include receiving flight plan data representing a set of current flight plans and receiving surveillance data representing a set of current aircraft statuses. The method may further include generating merged data representing a set of flight portions that remain to be flown. The method may also include receiving operational context data representing airspace configurations, airport configurations, or a combination thereof, and receiving weather data. The method may include generating predicted flight traffic data by performing a simulation of flights over a duration of time, the simulation based at least partially on the merged data, the operational context data, and the weather data. The method may further include generating a user output based at least partially on the predicted flight traffic data.

System and method to forecast flight delay based on real-time data

A computer-implemented method, system and computer program product for estimating the impact of new operational conditions in a baseline air traffic scenario. The system comprises: an intent inference module for retrieving flight track data and associated aircraft type information of a flight in a baseline air traffic scenario, and inferring an aircraft intent that fits the flight track data; an intent generation module for, using an alternative air traffic scenario based on the baseline air traffic scenario with new operational conditions, generating an aircraft intent for each flight in the alternative air traffic scenario that fits the new operational conditions; a trajectory computation module for computing the trajectory of each flight in the baseline and alternative air traffic scenario using their aircraft intent; an evaluation module for computing a trajectory-based analytics on each computed trajectory of the baseline and alternative air traffic scenario using a set of metrics.

Example aircraft intent processors are described herein that can be used both for the prediction of an aircraft's trajectory from aircraft intent, and the execution of aircraft intent for controlling the aircraft. An example aircraft intent processor includes an aircraft intent input to receive aircraft intent data representative of aircraft intent instructions, an aircraft state input to receive state data representative of a state of the aircraft, and a residual output. The aircraft intent processor is to calculate residual data representative of an error between a state of the aircraft commanded by the received aircraft intent data and the state of the aircraft expressed by received state data, and output the residual data via the residual output.

Aircraft intent processor

The present invention relates to methods of controlling the flight path of an aircraft to follow as closely as possible a predetermined four-dimensional flight path, such as when flying continuous descent approaches. A method of controlling an aircraft to follow a predetermined four-dimensional flight path is provided that comprises monitoring the actual along-track position and the actual vertical position of the aircraft relative to the corresponding desired positions on the predetermined flight path. The aircraft's elevators are used to correct deviations of the along-track position and the aircraft's throttle is used to correct deviations of the vertical position.

Four-dimensional navigation of an aircraft

Determining a descent trajectory described by an Aircraft Intent Description Language (AIDL) is disclosed. An example method includes accessing historical flight data for a recorded flight trajectory, the recorded flight trajectory having been performed by a first aircraft type of multiple aircraft types and for a first airline of multiple airlines; estimating, using a processor, an aircraft intent parameter and an initial condition of the recorded flight trajectory based on an aircraft intent description language (AIDL) representation of the recorded flight trajectory; and mapping, using the processor, the aircraft intent parameter and the initial condition to a combination of the first aircraft type, the first airline, and an identified intended descent procedure.

Determining a descent trajectory described by an aircraft intent description language (AIDL)

A system and method for steering aircraft along a predetermined track is disclosed herein. The system and method relate to steering an aircraft along a lateral path (e.g. a track described by reference to latitude and longitude) by a method comprising: calculating a nominal track correction; providing an upper limit and a lower limit for the nominal track correction; setting a desired track correction as: (i) the nominal track correction if the nominal track is between the upper limit and the lower limit; (ii) the upper limit if the nominal track correction is greater than or equal to the upper limit; or (iii) the lower limit if the nominal track correction is less than or equal to the lower limit; and steering the aircraft using the desired track correction.

Aircraft guidance method and system

A method of estimating a course of an aircraft includes: receiving a time series of location data indicating a plurality of locations along a route take by an aircraft; defining a trajectory function for representing a path of the aircraft; fitting the trajectory function to at least a portion of the time series; defining a position that identifies the location of the aircraft along the route; projecting the defined position onto the trajectory function; and estimating a course of the aircraft as being a tangent of the trajectory function at the projected defined position.

Growing community of inventors

Madrid, Spain

Luis P D'Alto