Honeywell International Inc.

Troy A Nichols

John Suddreth

Thea Lynn Feyereisen

Michael C Little

Ivan Sandy Wyatt

Aaron James Gannon

Jerry D Ball

Gang He

Joseph J Nutaro

Dave Pepitone

David B Dwyer

Sean Caufield

Subash Samuthirapandian

Keith Hughes

Mark Giddings

John G Suddreth

Matthew Hilbert

William R Gilliland

Joe Nutaro

Mathew Hilbert

Mike Little

Xavier Henry

Jerry Ball

Mark A Giddings

William Gilliland

Jay Engels

Flight planning systems and methods are provided, which augment supersonic flight planning via the integration of sonic boom forecast data. In embodiments, the flight planning system includes a display device, a pilot input interface, and a controller architecture coupled to the display device and to the pilot input interface. During system operation, the controller architecture receives flight plan criteria entered via the pilot input interface. The controller architecture then endeavors to generate or construct a boom-regulated flight plan, which includes at least one supersonic flight plan segment, in accordance with the flight plan criteria. If unable to construct a boom-regulated flight plan, the controller architecture generates a visual notification on the display device. The visual notification can include, for example, a warning that an excessive sonic boom or overpressure event may occur during execution of the flight plan by an aircraft, absent modifications to the flight plan.

Systems and methods for sonic boom aware flight planning

A system and method are provided for displaying a strategic navigational overview of a vehicle, including a navigational map and a marker icon thereon representing an entity pertinent to navigation of the vehicle. A vertical line contacting the marker icon has, contiguous thereto, a current altitude icon representing the current altitude of the vehicle, and a trending icon indicating a direction of a change in altitude of the vehicle.

System and method for exocentric display of integrated navigation

A method and system are described for enhancing ground situational awareness to an aircrew via an alphanumeric display of an air traffic control ground clearance, including displaying a symbol for each stage of the clearance. A crewmember may accept or change each stage via a graphical user interface within the alphanumeric display.

System and method for confirming received taxi instructions

A system and method is provided for updating an aircraft flight management system with approach and landing information received from a NOTAM transmission. The system and method receives an updated ILS category, updates the ILS category and updates the associated decision height/altitude. In addition, the system and method generates a notification of the NOTAM update and disregards user attempts to select an ILS category and/or decision height that is inconsistent with the NOTAM update.

System and method for updating ILS category and decision height

Methods and systems are provided for displaying a taxi clearance for an aircraft at an airport. One exemplary method involves receiving user input indicative of a constraining taxi path of a plurality of taxi paths at the airport, determining a first taxi portion between an initial location for the taxi clearance and the constraining taxi path, determining a second taxi portion between the constraining taxi path and a destination location for the taxi clearance, and displaying, on a display device associated with the aircraft, a taxi route comprising the first taxi portion, the second taxi portion, and the constraining taxi path between the first taxi portion and the second taxi portion.

Methods and systems for displaying a taxi clearance

A dynamic runway indicator is displayed overlying a conformal runway for assisting a pilot in completing an approach to landing on a runway. The dynamic runway indicator includes a polygon, that by changing position with respect to the conformal runway, provides advanced instrumentation cues to the pilot for adjusting the aircraft flight path to a normal, or recommended, path to the runway for landing, thereby assisting the pilot to improve the accuracy and safety of the approach and landing.

System and method for displaying a runway position indicator

A vehicle display system displays enhanced vision (EV) and captured images, for example synthetic vision (SV) images, to an operator of a vehicle. The display system includes an EV vision system for generating EV images, an SV database containing information regarding terrain and objects of interest for a travel path of a vehicle, an SV system for generating SV images based on travel of the vehicle and information from the SV database, a processor for filtering the EV images and merging the filtered EV image with the SV image, and a display for displaying the merged SV and filtered EV images.

Display systems and methods for displaying enhanced vision and synthetic images

A taxi guidance system is provided for an aircraft having a primary thrust engine and an onboard electric taxi system. The taxi guidance system includes or cooperates with a source of aircraft status data for the aircraft, and a source of airport feature data associated with synthetic graphical representations of an airport field. The taxi guidance system includes a processor operatively coupled to the source of aircraft status data and to the source of airport feature data to generate, in response to at least the aircraft status data and the airport feature data, taxi path guidance information for the aircraft, start/stop guidance information associated with operation of the primary thrust engine, and speed guidance information for the onboard electric taxi system. The processor generates image rendering display commands that can be received by a display system to render a dynamic synthetic representation of the airport field that includes graphical indicia of the taxi path guidance information, the start/stop guidance information, and the speed guidance information.

Electric taxi system guidance

An aircrew situational awareness while taxiing is enhanced by blossoming a displayed landmark related to the current taxiway from a first format to a second format as the aircraft approaches the landmark.

Method and system for displaying emphasized aircraft taxi landmarks

A methods, apparatus and system are provided for a vehicle with a ground navigational display. The system may include a display, a navigation system determining a location of the vehicle, a database storing a map including locations of buildings on the map and a processor. The processor may be configured to display the map on the display based upon the location of the vehicle, assign a fixed height to all of the buildings displayed on the display, and render the buildings displayed on the display in three-dimensions and having the assigned fixed height.

Ground navigational display, system and method displaying buildings in three-dimensions

Methods and systems are provided for providing information relating to taxiing an aircraft at an airport having a plurality of taxi paths. One exemplary method involves identifying a first aircraft location on a first taxi path and a first aircraft heading along the first taxi path, and determining a first subset of possible taxi paths from the plurality of taxi paths based on the first aircraft location and the first aircraft heading, such that each respective taxi path of the first subset intersects the first taxi path at a respective intersection location in the first aircraft heading from the first aircraft location. The method continues by receiving a first input, and when the first input corresponds to a second taxi path of the first subset, providing indication of the second taxi path.

Methods and systems for inputting taxi instructions

A display system and method for an aircraft simultaneously displays the terrain under the flight plan, or under the current track of the aircraft, as both a two-dimensional lateral situation view image and as a perspective vertical situation view image. This provides improved tactical flight planning, and that does not erroneously show the flight plan passing through the displayed terrain.

Perspective vertical situation display system and method

A flight deck display system for an aircraft or other vehicle includes a first data source of visual feature data that is indicative of visual features of a location of interest, a second data source of flight data for the aircraft, a processor architecture, and a display element. The processor architecture is operatively coupled to the first data source and to the second data source, and it is configured to process the visual feature data, process the flight data, and, based upon the visual feature data and the flight data, generate image rendering display commands. The display element receives the image rendering display commands and, in response thereto, renders a dynamic graphical representation of the location of interest using the visual feature data. The dynamic graphical representation of the location conveys an amount of visible detail that varies as a function of the flight data.

System and method for rendering visible features of a target location on a synthetic flight display

A method for displaying information on a flight deck display element of an aircraft begins by obtaining a user interface command that represents a user-entered selection of a designated target. Relevant data is accessed and processed in response to this command, including aircraft status data for the aircraft, terrain data corresponding to terrain proximate the designated target, and graphics data corresponding to the designated target. Then, a target-focused display is rendered on the flight deck display element. The target-focused display includes a real-time synthetic perspective view of the designated target and the terrain proximate the designated target, wherein content of the target-focused display is influenced by the aircraft status data, the terrain data, and the graphics data.

Growing community of inventors

Phoenix, AZ, United States of America

Troy A Nichols