Aircraft vertical landing guidance method and system
First Claim
1. A method of guiding a rotary wing aircraft to a landing zone, comprising the steps of:
- a) projecting a pattern of focused nonintersecting discrete light beams from the landing zone skyward;
b) skyward of the landing zone, positioning the aircraft within the pattern;
c) illuminating simultaneously with at least a plurality of the light beams the rotary wing of the aircraft with the pattern so as to form a visual cue of the position of the aircraft relative to the landing zone.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vertical lift aircraft, such as a helicopter, can land in an area with impaired visibility such as fog. Around the landing area is a plurality of laser beam emitters. The emitters project a pattern of laser beams skyward. The helicopter finds the general area by spot-lights pointing up through the fog, or by navigation. As the helicopter approaches, it sends a radio signal, which is detected on the ground. The spot-lights are switched off and the laser emitters are switched on. The helicopter is positioned within the pattern so that the laser beams reflect off of a portion of the aircraft, such as the rotor blades. This forms a visual cue, which the pilot uses to maintain the position of the helicopter relative to the landing area and descends thereto.
56 Citations
19 Claims
-
1. A method of guiding a rotary wing aircraft to a landing zone, comprising the steps of:
-
a) projecting a pattern of focused nonintersecting discrete light beams from the landing zone skyward;
b) skyward of the landing zone, positioning the aircraft within the pattern;
c) illuminating simultaneously with at least a plurality of the light beams the rotary wing of the aircraft with the pattern so as to form a visual cue of the position of the aircraft relative to the landing zone. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
a) detecting the approach of the aircraft to a position above the landing zone;
b) upon the detection of the approach of the aircraft, initiating the step of projecting a pattern of focused light beams from the landing zone skyward.
-
-
10. The method of claim 9 wherein the step of detecting the approach of the aircraft to a position above the landing zone further comprises the step of receiving a radio transmission from the aircraft.
-
11. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of providing spot-lights at the landing zone before the step of projecting a pattern of focused light beams from the landing zone skyward so as to direct the aircraft to the general area of the landing zone.
-
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the light beams comprise a first color, further comprising the steps of:
-
a) projecting a second color of light into a crossing pattern of focused light beams at a first altitude;
b) projecting a third color of light into a crossing pattern of focused light beams at a second altitude.
-
-
13. The method of claim 1 wherein:
-
a) the focused light beams comprise beams of coherent light;
b) the landing zone has a predetermined shape and the pattern of focused light beams has a shape that corresponds to the landing zone shape.
-
-
14. The method of claim 1 wherein the focused light beams comprise beams of light in the infrared spectrum.
-
15. A method of guiding a rotary wing aircraft to a landing zone, comprising the steps of:
-
a) projecting a pattern of focused light beams from a landing zone skyward, the pattern having a curved shape so as to form a visual boundary;
b) skyward of the landing zone, positioning the aircraft within the shape;
c) illuminating the rotary wing of the aircraft with the pattern so as to form a visual cue of the position of the aircraft relative to the landing zone;
d) descending the aircraft while maintaining the aircraft within the shape, so as to continue to illuminate the rotary wing of the aircraft with the pattern. - View Dependent Claims (16)
-
-
17. A method of guiding a vertical lift aircraft to a landing zone, comprising the steps of:
-
a) providing diverging laser beams at the landing zone so as to direct the aircraft to the general area of the landing zone;
b) projecting a pattern of focused light beams from the landing zone skyward;
c) skyward of the landing zone, positioning the aircraft within the pattern;
d) illuminating part of the aircraft with the pattern so as to form a visual cue of the position of the aircraft relative to the landing zone.
-
-
18. A system of guiding a rotary wing aircraft to a landing zone, comprising:
-
a) an unobstructed area;
b) a plurality of laser beam emitters deployed in the unobstructed area, the emitters being arranged so as to project a pattern of light beams skyward and onto a descending aircraft;
c) a controller connected to the emitters, the controller comprising a detector that detects the approach of the aircraft to the landing zone, the controller also comprising a switch for operating the emitters upon the detection of the approach of the aircraft;
d) spot-lights connected to the controller, the controller operating the spot-lights so as to illuminate the space around the unobstructed area until the detector detects the approach of the aircraft to the landings zone, wherein the controller turns the spot-lights off. - View Dependent Claims (19)
-
Specification