Air Traffic Control Delay Factor

• US 20090157288A1
• Filed: 12/12/2007
• Published: 06/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Singleton, Marissa K., Bailey, Louis J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,257,047 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/121
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0039 Modification of a flight plan

Abstract

A time factor corresponding to an airspace delay or acceleration is communicated to an aircraft. A flight management computer or other computational device of the aircraft calculates a proposed change in trajectory in order to accommodate the time factor in an optimum or nearly optimum manner. One or more proposed changes in trajectory are subject to review by the pilot or other flight personnel. An operator-selected change in trajectory is then implemented in order to accommodate a new arrival time of the aircraft at its destination or a positional point.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

communicating a time factor to a computational device of an aircraft;

calculating one or more proposed changes in trajectory in accordance with the time factor using the computational device;

altering the flight of the aircraft in accordance with a selected one of the one or more proposed changes in trajectory.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising communicating an operator acknowledgement of the time factor to an entity external to the aircraft.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying the one or more proposed changes in trajectory to an operator of the aircraft.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising communicating the selected one of the one or more proposed changes in trajectory to an entity external to the aircraft.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected one of the one or more proposed changes in trajectory is determined in accordance with an operator input to the computational device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the time factor originates from a ground-based control entity.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected one of the one or more changes in trajectory includes at least one of a change in takeoff time, a change in airspeed, a change in rate of climb, a change in rate of descent, a change in ground speed, a change in altitude, or a change in flight path.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the time factor is such that a new estimated time of arrival of the aircraft at a destination or a positional point is either later or earlier than an original estimated time of arrival of the aircraft at the destination or the positional point.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving a rejection of at least one of the one or more proposed changes in trajectory from an operator at the computational device.

10. A method of controlling an aircraft, comprising:

inputting a time factor to a computational device of the aircraft, the time factor originating at a ground-based control entity;

calculating one or more proposed changes in trajectory in accordance with the time factor using the computational device;

displaying the one or more proposed changes in trajectory to an operator of the aircraft; and

altering flight of the aircraft in accordance with an operator selected one of the one or more proposed changes in trajectory.

11. The method of controlling an aircraft according to claim 10 further comprising receiving a rejection of at least one of the one or more proposed changes in trajectory from the operator at the computational device.

12. The method of controlling an aircraft according to claim 10 further comprising communicating the operator selected one of the one or more proposed changes in trajectory to the ground-based flight control entity.

13. The method of controlling an aircraft according to claim 10, wherein the operator selected one of the one or more proposed changes in trajectory includes at least one of a change in takeoff time, a change in airspeed, a change in ground speed, a change in rate of climb, a change in rate of descent, a change in altitude, or a change in flight path.

14. The method of controlling an aircraft according to claim 10, wherein the time factor is such that a new estimated arrival time of the aircraft at a destination or positional point is either later or earlier than an original estimated arrival time of the aircraft at the destination or the positional point.

15. One or more computer-readable storage media including a program code, the program code configured to cause a computer to:

receive a time factor;

calculate a proposed change in trajectory in accordance with the time factor; and

display the proposed change in trajectory to an operator of an aircraft.

16. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the proposed change in trajectory is a first proposed change in trajectory, the program code further configured to cause the computer to:

receive a rejection of the first proposed change in trajectory from the operator of the aircraft;

calculate a second proposed change in trajectory in accordance with the time factor, the second proposed change in trajectory distinct from the first proposed change in trajectory; and

display the second proposed change in trajectory to the operator of the aircraft.

17. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the program code is further configured such that the proposed change in trajectory includes at least one of a change in takeoff time, a change in airspeed, a change in ground speed, a change in altitude, a change in rate of climb, a change in rate of descent, or a change in flight path.

18. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the program code is further configured such that the proposed change in trajectory corresponds to new estimated arrival time of the aircraft at a destination or a positional point that is either later or earlier than an original estimated arrival time of the aircraft at the destination or the positional point.

19. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the program code is further configured to cause the computer to:

receive an acceptance of the proposed change in trajectory from the operator of the aircraft; and

communicate the accepted change in trajectory to a ground-based flight control entity.

20. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the program code is further configured to cause the computer to:

receive an acceptance of the proposed change in trajectory from the operator of the aircraft; and

automatically control one or more aspects of the aircraft in accordance with the accepted change in trajectory.