Portable flight guidance and tracking system

• US 6,005,513 A
• Filed: 06/03/1997
• Issued: 12/21/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Co. (The Boeing Co.)
• Original Assignee: McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Co. (The Boeing Co.)
• Inventors: Hardesty, W. Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Blum, Theodore M.
• Application Number:
  US08/868,203
• Time in Patent Office: 931 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.09, 342/357.13, 701/213, 701/215
• US Class Current: 342/357.34
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/02 using radio waves G01S19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/41 Differential correction, e.g. DGPS [differential GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/51 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/52 Determining velocity
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/003 for aircraft positioning relative to the ground
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/009 Transmission of differential positioning data to mobile

Abstract

A portable three-dimensional position and velocity data archiving system for use with an aircraft during flight testing and evaluations. The system includes a ground based system and an airborne system. Each system includes a GPS receiver electrically connected with a GPS antenna for receiving and interpreting GPS signals transmitted from a GPS satellite constellation. Each system also includes a radio communication device for transferring position and velocity data as well as error correction data and guidance cues between the ground and airborne systems. The portable system acquires, processes, archives, and provides precise three-dimensional position and velocity data for the aircraft in real time. Information regarding aircraft position, direction, velocity, acceleration and any correction needs referenced to a selected coordinate system is immediately presented to a vehicle piloting crew on analog as well as digital indicators.

Claims

1. A portable system for flight testing an aircraft, said portable flight test system operable in conjunction with GPS signals broadcast from a GPS satellite constellation for determining and archiving, in real time, position and velocity data of the aircraft during a test flight, said portable system comprising:

a ground based GPS antenna for receiving GPS signals transmitted from the GPS satellite constellation, said ground based GPS antenna positioned at a first reference location;

a ground based GPS receiver electrically connected with the ground based GPS antenna for receiving and interpreting GPS signals from the ground based GPS antenna and for generating position and correction data for the reference location;

a ground based processor electrically connected with the ground based GPS receiver;

a first communication device electrically connected with each of said ground based GPS receiver and processor;

a portable airborne system for attachment to said aircraft, said airborne system including;

(a) an airborne GPS antenna attached to said aircraft for receiving GPS signals broadcast from the GPS;

(b) an airborne GPS receiver electrically connected with the airborne GPS antenna for receiving and interpreting GPS signals from the airborne GPS antenna and for generating position data for the aircraft;

(c) a second communication device electrically connected with said airborne GPS receiver, said second communication device for transmitting and receiving data with said first communication device; and

(d) an airborne processor electrically connected with the airborne GPS receiver and the second communication device, said airborne processor for processing and archiving the position data from the airborne GPS receiver to determine position and velocity data, in real time, for the aircraft; and

wherein said ground based GPS receiver and processor and said airborne GPS receiver and processor communicate electronically through the first and the second communication devices to determine differences between an actual aircraft position and velocity profile and the predetermined position and velocity profile of the test flight plan.

2. The portable system as recited in claim 1 wherein said airborne system is removably attached to said aircraft.

3. The portable system as recited in claim 1, and further comprising a support vehicle for supporting said ground based GPS receiver, said ground based processor and said first communication device.

4. The portable system as recited in claim 1 wherein said ground based processor is a portable computer.

5. The portable system as recited in claim 1 wherein said ground based GPS receiver and said airborne GPS receiver are substantially similar.

6. The portable system as recited in claim 1 wherein each of said first and second communication devices comprise a cellular communication device.

7. The portable system as recited in claim 1 wherein said first and second communication devices comprise a radio frequency modem data link.

8. The portable system as recited in claim 1 wherein said airborne GPS receiver is adapted to receive and process differential correction data from the ground based GPS receiver and said differential correction data is transmitted through the first communication device to the second communication device.

9. The portable system as recited in claim 1 wherein each of the ground based GPS receiver and the airborne GPS receiver has the ability to acquire, process and utilize signals transmitted from the GPS over both an L1 frequency and an L2 frequency.

10. A portable guidance and tracking system for determining and archiving, in real time, position and velocity data of an aircraft during a test flight and for providing a plurality of flight guidance cues to the aircraft relative to a test flight plan, said portable guidance and tracking system comprising:

a ground based GPS antenna for receiving GPS signals transmitted from a GPS satellite constellation, said ground based GPS antenna positioned at a first reference location;

a ground based GPS receiver electrically connected with the ground based GPS antenna for receiving and interpreting GPS signals from the ground based GPS antenna and for generating position and correction data for the reference location;

a ground based processor electrically connected with the ground based GPS receiver;

a first communication device electrically connected with each of said ground based GPS receiver and processor;

an airborne GPS antenna attached to said aircraft for receiving GPS signals transmitted from the GPS satellite constellation;

an airborne GPS receiver electrically connected with the airborne GPS antenna and attached to the aircraft, said airborne GPS receiver for receiving and interpreting GPS signals from the airborne GPS antenna and for generating position data for the aircraft;

a second communication device attached to the aircraft, said second communication device for transmitting and receiving data with said first communication device;

an airborne processor electrically connected with the airborne GPS receiver and the second communication device, said airborne processor for processing and archiving the position data from the airborne GPS receiver and the position and correction data from the ground based GPS receiver to determine and archive position data and velocity data, in real time, for the aircraft; and

an indicator mounted within said aircraft for receiving and displaying said plurality of flight guidance cues; and

wherein the ground based GPS receiver and processor and the airborne GPS receiver and processor communicate electronically through the first and the second communication devices.

11. The portable system as recited in claim 10 wherein at least some of the plurality of flight guidance cues comprise both a position guidance cue and a power guidance cue and said indicator is adapted to indicate both of said position and said power guidance cues.

12. The portable system as recited in claim 11 wherein the indicator comprises a display monitor mounted within the aircraft for displaying the guidance cues.

13. The portable system as recited in claim 11 wherein the indicator comprises a plurality of conventional flight instruments.

14. The portable system as recited in claim 13, wherein said plurality of conventional flight instruments includes a course deviation indicator and a glideslope deviation indicator.

15. The portable system as recited in claim 10 wherein the aircraft comprises an automatic piloting system and wherein the airborne computer is electrically connected with the automatic piloting system such that the plurality of guidance cues are directed to the automatic piloting system for use in piloting the aircraft.

16. The portable system as recited in claim 10 wherein said airborne processor generates a plurality of digital correction values and provides said values to said indicator.

17. The portable system as recited in claim 10 wherein said first communication device is electrically connected to a ground based communication antenna and said second communication device is electrically interconnected to an airborne communication antenna mounted to said aircraft.

18. The portable system as recited in claim 10 wherein said flight plan comprises a predetermined position and velocity profile and one of the ground base processor and the airborne processor generates the plurality of flight guidance cues from the differences between an actual aircraft position and velocity profile and the predetermined position and velocity profile of the test flight plan.

19. A method of determining and archiving, in real time and in three dimensions, position, velocity and acceleration data relative to time for an aircraft during a test flight, said method comprising the steps:

providing a portable test range comprising;

(a) a base system having a base GPS receiver electrically connected with a base GPS antenna for receiving and interpreting GPS signals transmitted from a GPS satellite constellation, said base GPS receiver electrically connected with a base computer and each of said base GPS receiver and said base computer electrically connected with a first radio communication device;

(b) an airborne system having an airborne GPS receiver electrically connected with an airborne GPS antenna for receiving and interpreting GPS signals transmitted from the GPS, said airborne GPS receiver electrically connected with an airborne computer and each of said airborne GPS receiver and said airborne computer electrically connected with a second radio communication device for transmitting and receiving with said first communicating device; and

(c) a test range for supporting the base system;

determining a test flight plan having a predetermined position and velocity profile for the aircraft;

identifying a reference location within the test range;

acquiring three dimensional position data for the reference location using the base system;

acquiring three dimensional position data in real time for the aircraft using the airborne system;

updating the three dimensional position data for the aircraft during the aircraft test flight using the airborne system;

communicating between the first communication device and the second communication device for transferring the three dimensional position data for the aircraft and the reference location between the airborne system and the base system;

processing the three dimensional position data for the aircraft and the reference location using the base and airborne computers to determine static and dynamic aircraft position data, velocity data and acceleration data relative to the reference location; and

archiving the processed data to an electronic storage medium within at least one of the base and airborne computers.

20. The method as recited in claim 19, and further comprising the step of:

evaluating the aircraft position and velocity in real time relative to the test flight plan;

determining a real time guidance cue for correcting any deviations between the position and velocity of the aircraft relative to the predetermined position and velocity profile of the flight plan; and

providing the real time guidance cue to the aircraft to enable a flight controller to correct the position and velocity of the aircraft during the test flight.

21. The method as recited in claim 20 wherein the step of providing the real time guidance cue comprises using a plurality of directing instruments within the aircraft to direct the flight controller.

22. The method as recited in claim 21 wherein the step of providing the guidance cue comprises providing the guidance cue to an automatic piloting system on the aircraft.

23. The method as recited in claim 20, and further comprising the step of communicating the guidance cues from the base system to the airborne system using the first and second communication devices.