The Boeing Company

Theboeing Company

Syed Tahir Shafaat

John Allin Brown

William L Goodman

Minh-Tri Le

Tan Nhat Che

Robert P Smith

Jennifer L Gertley

Charles Frederick Bell

Julian Ametsitsi

Thomas Imrich

David S Yotsuuye

Juliana J Goh

Aslaug Haraldsdottir

David M Myers

Leon E Robert

Nory K Nishimura

Kim A Nguyen

Robert G Brewer

A small thin display unit that can be installed in the flight deck for displaying only flight crew-selected tactical information needed for the task at hand. The flight crew can select the tactical information to be displayed by means of any conventional user interface. Whenever the flight crew selects tactical information for display, the user interface sends a corresponding request for tactical information to a computer system. The computer system processes the request, including periodically retrieving measured current values or computing current values for the requested tactical parameters and returning those current tactical parameter values to the display unit for display.

Pilot-configurable information on a display unit

A method and apparatus of controlling movement of an aircraft. A turn path off of a planned route for an aircraft comprising a turn to direct the aircraft to an intercept point on the planned route is determined. A planned route indicator depicting the planned route, a turn path indicator depicting the turn path, and an aircraft position indicator indicating a position of the aircraft are displayed to an operator of the aircraft at the same time on a turn guidance display. Deviation limit indicators for the planned route, the turn path, or both, may be displayed on the turn guidance display. Indicator characteristics of the deviation limit indicators may be changed in response to aircraft deviations from the planned route or the turn path by more than the deviation limits. The turn guidance display is used to control the movement of the aircraft to follow the turn path.

Guidance display for controlling aircraft turns for aircraft spacing

Systems and methods that display information to enable a flight crew on a trailing aircraft to maintain separation behind a leading aircraft during an approach. Graphical designs are displayed on a navigation display or other display in the flight deck of the trailing aircraft to help the flight crew visually acquire the leading aircraft out the window and maintain at least a specified separation distance or spacing between the two aircraft even if visual contact is lost after the initial visual contact. A visual indication is provided on the display if that separation distance/spacing is attained. If for some reason the flight crew misses that visual indication and the trailing aircraft continues to get closer to the leading aircraft, another visual indication is provided, followed by an aural alert when a minimum safe spacing is reached.

Flight deck displays to enable visual separation standard

Methods, systems, and computer-readable media described herein provide for the display of aircraft traffic and climb/descent information on an aircraft display. Flight data is received from a traffic aircraft in the vicinity of an ownship aircraft. Similar flight data is determined for the ownship aircraft. The flight data for the traffic aircraft and the ownship aircraft is used to determine a criteria indicator that is associated with at least the longitudinal separation and closure rate between the two aircraft. According to various embodiments, a number of altitude indication lines are displayed and an aircraft traffic indicator and ownship indicator corresponding with the traffic aircraft and ownship aircraft are displayed on the appropriate altitude indication lines. The criteria indicator is displayed so that the position of the criteria indicator with respect to the aircraft traffic indicator and ownship indicator informs a pilot as to whether an altitude change is possible.

Distance separation criteria indicator

A visual/graphical air traffic display tool to aid flight crews in determining future heading/track and position of ownship based on current climb rate, bank angle and groundspeed under current meteorological conditions. The tool displays symbols which indicate the predicted future position and heading/track of ownship on a traffic display unit. The tool is also capable of using ownship's predicted position and information received from surrounding traffic to identify a future conflict at ownship's predicted position and then display a future conflict warning on the traffic display unit. In one embodiment, the future conflict warning takes the form of a change in the coloration of the ownship position and heading/track indicator being displayed.

Predicted position and heading/track indicators for navigation display

Systems and methods are disclosed for displaying the current trends (i.e., turning or going straight) or the future positions of vehicles of interest on a traffic display unit. The position, orientation and geometry of the displayed symbology is a function of parametric information broadcast by the vehicles of interest and processed by a computer system that controls the traffic display unit. In particular examples disclosed herein, the traffic display unit is a navigation display on an aircraft or a traffic display unit at a traffic controller's station. However, the methods disclosed herein have application to vehicular traffic other than aircraft, such as boats or ships.

Display of current trend and/or future position of vehicular traffic

A method for achieving and maintaining spacing between aircraft may include receiving by a following aircraft information related to a lead aircraft. The information is useable for achieving and maintaining spacing by the following aircraft from the lead aircraft. The method may also include determining spacing of the following aircraft from the lead aircraft. The method may additionally include receiving by the following aircraft a vertical profile for the traffic management environment. The method may further include automatically controlling throttle settings to achieve and maintain spacing by the following aircraft from the lead aircraft while maintaining the vertical profile of the following aircraft in response to an automatic spacing mode being enabled.

On-board aircraft system and method for achieving and maintaining spacing

A method of operating an air traffic control system may include receiving, by a control system, an instruction from a control system user. The method may further include providing, by the control system, the instruction to an airplane via a data link between the control system and a system of the airplane. In addition, the method may include adjusting, by the airplane system, at least one airplane control to correspond to the instruction.

Air traffic control method

A method for filtering and presenting relevant aircraft traffic to a pilot may include determining a location and altitude of aircraft within a predetermined airspace relative to the pilot's own aircraft. The method may also include presenting a representation of the pilot's own aircraft and a representation of the location of each of the aircraft within the predetermined airspace in relation to the pilot's own aircraft on a display to the pilot. The method may additionally include filtering relevant aircraft within a selected filtering airspace relative to the pilot's own aircraft. The method may further include presenting the representation of the relevant aircraft within the selected filtering airspace in a selected format to distinguish the relevant aircraft within the selected filtering airspace from any other aircraft that may be presented in the display.

Filtering aircraft traffic for display to a pilot

A method of receiving an instruction by an airplane from a control system includes facilitating, by the airplane, a user of a system of the airplane in accepting or rejecting the instruction. The instruction may be received by the airplane via a data link between the control system and the airplane system. If the instruction is accepted, the method may further include loading, by the airplane, the instruction into the airplane system and/or adjusting, by the airplane, at least one airplane control to correspond to the instruction.

Programming airplane systems based on instructions

Methods and apparatuses for receiving, by an airplane, one or more clearances and/or instructions from a control system via a data link between the control system and a system of the airplane, are described herein. The system of the airplane may then facilitate a user in accepting or rejecting at least one of the received one or more clearances and/or instructions, and if accepted, may load the clearance and/or instructions and/or adjust controls to correspond to the clearance and/or instructions. Further, the system of the airplane may be adapted to display at least instructions indicia of whether the received instructions are met to a user.

Displaying and/or programming airplane systems based on clearances and/or instructions

Systems and methods for direct communication between aircraft for one or more embodiments are adapted to receive tactical and strategic information related to proximate aircraft for improved flight planning. The systems and methods presented herein may be implemented, for example, in a first aircraft having a data link component adapted to process information, a storage component adapted to store information related to the first aircraft, and a communication interface component adapted to directly communicate with a second aircraft via a communication link. The first aircraft may include a user interface component adapted to interact with the data link component to retrieve information related to the first aircraft from the storage component, generate a request message with the information related to the first aircraft, and communicate with the communication interface component to directly transmit the generated request message to the second aircraft via the communication link.

Direct aircraft-to-aircraft data link communication

The invention discloses differing embodiments of methods, aircraft, and apparatus for determining the landing conditions of a runway. In one embodiment, braking data may be collected from an aircraft which has landed on the runway; a braking performance measurement of the aircraft may be calculated based on the braking data; and a normalized braking performance measurement may be determined based on the braking performance measurement. The invention may be utilized to predict the expected braking performance of various types of aircraft on the runway. The invention may provide landing performance information to a broad host of users, and/or may be used as a basis for the development of a new aviation standard for the reporting of runway braking action.

Growing community of inventors

Everett, WA, United States of America

Syed Tahir Shafaat