Innovative Solutions & Support, Inc.

Innovative Solutions & Support (iss)

Askarpour, Shahram

Knopf, Markus

Markus Knopf

Shahram Askarpour

Geoffrey S M Hedrick

Jeff Collins

Geoffrey SM Hedrick

This disclosure relates to improved techniques for upgrading legacy flight management systems (FMSs) installed in an aircraft. In certain embodiments, an integrated guidance system (IGS) can be installed in an aircraft having a legacy FMS to provide enhance flight functionalities, such as required navigation performance (RNP), localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV), and automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B), capabilities. Additionally, the IGS described can include, inter alia, a navigator system that receives and processes information from an ADS-B system to implement a variety of automated following options, each of which can provide an automated mechanism for controlling a flight path of the aircraft relative to another aircraft that is being tracked by an ADS-B system.

Systems and methods for implementing automated flight following options and upgrading legacy flight management systems

An autothrottle for an aircraft that includes a power-control input (PCL) manually movable by a pilot along a travel path to effect a throttle setting that controls engine power of the aircraft. The autothrottle determines a control-target setting for a throttle of the aircraft and dynamically adjusts the throttle according to the control-target setting, including moving the PCL to achieve the control-target setting. A virtual detent is set and dynamically adjusted at positions along a travel path of the PCL corresponding to the control-target setting. The virtual detent is operative, at least when the autothrottle is in a disengaged state for autothrottle control, to indicate the control-target setting to the pilot via a haptic effect that applies a detent force opposing motion of the PCL in response to the PCL achieving the position of the virtual detent.

Pilot interface for aircraft autothrottle control

An autothrottle system to be interfaced with a full-authority digital engine control (FADEC) system having a command input that receives sensed power-control input (PCL) position signaling indicative of a manual throttle setting for an aircraft. The autothrottle system generates automated power command signaling that is synthesized to virtualize electrical characteristics of the sensed PCL position signaling such that the automated power command signaling is recognized by the FADEC system as sensed PCL position signaling.

Retrofit aircraft autothrottle control for aircraft with engine controllers

A preexisting FMS system may be upgraded to increase its functionality while still taking advantage of certain components of the legacy system previously provided on the aircraft and replacing other preexisting components with different components for enhancing the functionality of the FMS system. The preexisting IRU, CADC, DME receiver and DFGC in the upgraded FMS system are in communication with the legacy AFMC but, instead of employing the legacy EFIS which existed in the preexisting FMS system, the EFIS is replaced by a data concentrator unit as well as the display control panel and integrated flat panel display, and a GPS receiver. The upgraded FMS system is capable of such increased functionality as increased navigation database storage capacity, RNP, VNAV and RNAV capability utilizing a GPS based navigation solution, and RTA capability, while still enabling the legacy AFMC to exploit its aircraft performance capabilities throughout the flight.

Upgraded flight management system and method of providing the same

A preexisting FMS system may be upgraded to increase its functionality while still taking advantage of certain components of the legacy system previously provided on the aircraft and replacing other preexisting components with different components for enhancing the functionality of the FMS system. The preexisting IRU, CADC, DME receiver and DFGC in the upgraded FMS system are in communication with the legacy AFMC but, instead of employing the legacy EFIS which existed in the prrexisting FMS system, the EFIS is replaced by a data concentrator unit as well as the display control panel and integrated flat panel display, and a GPS receiver. The upgraded FMS system is capable of such increased functionality as increased navigation database storage capacity, RNP, VNAV and RNAV capability utilizing a GPS based navigation solution, and RTA capability, while still enabling the legacy AFMC to exploit its aircraft performance capabilities throughout the flight.

An improvement over prior art aircraft instrument flight display systems for imaging on a bit-mapped display formed of a multiplicity of individually addressable pixels at locations throughout the display and actuatable to create images on the display, employs a common processor operatively connected between a video graphics processor and the display system input of a common set of aircraft and environmental sensor data&#x2014; to provide both an integrity checking function and a graphics rendering function in which the integrity checking function can directly check the images generated by the graphics rendering function without the need for comparator hardware. Separate processors may also be employed instead of a common processor. The integrity checking function uses the input information for generating a pixel verification map for checking the display based on pixel color and location. The system can also check for pitch and roll accuracy as well as check the integrity of complex images using statistical detection.

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Chester Springs, PA, United States of America

Markus Knopf