Method for Flight Control of a Plurality of Aircraft Flying in Formation

• US 20100168937A1
• Filed: 08/03/2006
• Published: 07/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: EADS Deutschland GmbH (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: EADS Deutschland GmbH (Airbus SE)
• Inventors: Zoberbier, Manfred, Soijer, Marco Willem, Goerke, Roland
• Application Number:
  US12/063,186
• Publication Number:
  US 20100168937A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/11
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/104 involving a plurality of aircrafts, e.g. formation flying traffic control systems for aircraft G08G5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0052 for cruising combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value G01C23/00

Abstract

In a method for the flight control of a plurality of aircraft flying in formation with respect to one another, correction signals are generated for an autopilot system or a command display in order to allow one or more following aircraft within the formation to follow a lead aircraft in the formation in a predeterminable relative position. A nominal trajectory of the following aircraft, parallel to the trajectory (1) of the lead aircraft, is calculated at each instantaneous position P′_act of the following aircraft, which trajectory runs through the instantaneous actual position P′_act and a reference point P′_RP. (The reference point P′_RP is the projection of a point P_RP, which is separated by the longitudinal nominal distance x_nom between the lead aircraft and the following aircraft, on the trajectory of the lead aircraft, taking into account the lateral and vertical actual distances y_act and z_act between the trajectory of the lead aircraft and that of the following aircraft. The trajectory of the following aircraft is calculated taking into account the lateral actual distance y_act from the trajectory of the lead aircraft by determining support points P′ on the trajectory of the following aircraft which have the same time coordinates as the corresponding support points on the trajectory of the lead aircraft. The correction signals are determined by i) measuring the longitudinal, lateral and vertical actual distances x_act, v_act and z_act between the trajectory of the lead aircraft and that of the following aircraft at the instantaneous position P′_act of the following aircraft, ii) calculating the longitudinal deviation Δx, the vertical deviation Δz and the lateral deviation Δy of the instantaneous actual position P′_act and of the nominal position P′_nom of the following aircraft from the respective nominal values x_nom, z_nom, y_nom and the measured actual values x_act, z_act, y_act, iii) calculating the nominal speed and the nominal acceleration of the following aircraft at the point P′_RP, and iv) calculating the nominal curvature, the nominal climbing rate and the nominal curvature angle Ψ of the trajectory of the following aircraft at the instantaneous position P′_act of the following aircraft.

Claims

1. A method of flight control for a plurality of aircraft flying in formation with respect to one another, with correction signals being generated for an autopilot system or a command display in order to allow one or more following aircraft within the formation to follow a lead aircraft in a predeterminable relative position, said method comprising:

at each instantaneous position P′

_act of the following aircraft, calculating a trajectory of the following aircraft, which is parallel to the trajectory of the lead aircraft, with the calculated trajectory of the following aircraft running through an instantaneous actual position P′

_act and a reference point P′

_RP, that is the projection of a point P_RP which is separated by the longitudinal nominal distance x_nom between the lead aircraft and the following aircraft, on the trajectory of the lead aircraft, taking into account the lateral and vertical actual distances y_act and z_act between the trajectory of the lead aircraft and that of the following aircraft;

calculating the trajectory of the following aircraft taking into account the lateral actual distance y_act from the trajectory of the lead aircraft by the determination of support points P′

on the trajectory of the following aircraft which have the same time coordinates as the corresponding support points on the trajectory of the lead aircraft; and

determining correction signals by the steps of

measuring longitudinal actual distance x_act, lateral actual distance y_act and vertical actual distance z_act between the trajectory of the lead aircraft and that of the following aircraft at the instantaneous position P′

_act of the following aircraft;

calculating a longitudinal deviation Δ

x, a vertical deviation Δ

z and a lateral deviation Δ

y of the instantaneous actual position P′

_act and of the nominal position P′

_nom of the following aircraft from the respective nominal values x_nom, z_nom, y_nom and the measured actual values x_act, z_act, y_act;

calculating nominal speed and nominal acceleration of the following aircraft at the point P′

_RP;

calculating a nominal curvature, a nominal climbing rate and a nominal curvature angle Ψ

of the trajectory of the following aircraft at the instantaneous position P′

_act of the following aircraft.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

a plurality of support points P are determined on the trajectory of the lead aircraft; and

for the support points P, the space coordinates are known and a time coordinate is known with respect to a time basis which is uniform for the formation.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a ground course angle Ψ

of the following aircraft is determined as the angle between a direction of the trajectory (2) of the following aircraft and its instantaneous position P′

_act and the true north.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference point P_RP and the reference point P′

_RP have the same time coordinate.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein time-tagged support points P on the trajectory of the lead aircraft are equidistant to one another.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal deviation Δ

x in a length indication is determined as the sum of individual length segments adjacent support points between the support point of reference point P′

_RP and the actual position P′

_act of the following aircraft.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal deviation Δ

x in a time indication is determined as the difference between the time coordinate of the support point of the reference point P′

_RP and the actual position P′

_act of the following aircraft.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the trajectory of the lead aircraft is calculated as the trajectory of a following aircraft relative to a lead aircraft of a higher-ranking formation.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the lead aircraft transmits an actual spatial position and an actual time coordinate to at least one following aircraft, by radio.