Method and device for aiding the landing of an aircraft on a runway

• US 7,286,077 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2005
• Issued: 10/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus France
• Inventors: Tatham, Gilles, Falcati, Michel
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza; Thomas H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BARKER, MATTHEW M
• Application Number:
  US11/108,116
• Publication Number:
  US 20050237235A1
• Time in Patent Office: 918 Days
• Field of Search: 342/33
• US Class Current: 342/33
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/18 Elevational guidance systems, e.g. system for defining aircraft glide path
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/56 Timing the pulse-type envelope signals derived by reception of the beam
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/15 Aircraft landing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/396 Determining accuracy or reliability of position or pseudorange measurements

Abstract

A system for aiding the landing of an aircraft on a runway uses an angular vertical position of the aircraft and includes at least one landing aid radio. In a stand-alone manner, the position of the aircraft in latitude and longitude is determined, and the position of the threshold of the runway in latitude and longitude is determined. A computing unit corrects, on the basis of positions of the aircraft and of the threshold of the runway, the angular vertical position of the aircraft. The corrected angular vertical position is used to aid the landing of the aircraft.

Claims

1. A method of aiding the landing of an aircraft on a runway, said method employing at least one landing aid radio unit and using an angular vertical position of the aircraft, wherein the following operations are carried out in sequence automatically and repetitively:

a) determining the position of the aircraft in latitude and longitude in a stand-alone manner;

b) determining the position of the threshold of said runway in latitude and longitude;

c) on the basis of the positions determined in steps a) and b), a first distance corresponding to the distance in a horizontal plane between the aircraft and the threshold of the runway is computed;

d) adding to this first distance the distance in a horizontal plane between a predetermined ground reference point and said threshold of the runway so as to form a second distance;

e) with the aid of this second distance and of the value of a measured approach slope of the aircraft, computing a first height corresponding to the relative height of the aircraft with respect to the threshold of the runway;

f) subtracting a predetermined metric deviation from said first height so as to form a second height; and

g) on the basis of said second height and of said second distance, correcting said angular vertical position of the aircraft, the angular vertical position thus corrected being used to aid the landing of the aircraft.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said predetermined metric deviation used in step f) makes it possible to comply with a 19-feet rule.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein in step a), the position of the aircraft is determined with the aid of a GPS receiver aboard said aircraft.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ground reference point used in step d) corresponds to the origin point, on the runway, of the approach slope.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein in step e), said first height H1 is computed with the aid of the following expression:

H1=D1·

tan α

in which;

α

is the value of the approach slope measured by the receiver of the landing system;

tan α

is the tangent of α

; and

D1 represents said second distance.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein in step g), said corrected angular position is computed with the aid of the following expression:

α

1=arc tan [(H1−

H2)/D1]

in which H1 and D1 represent the magnitudes specified in claim 5 and, H2 represents said predetermined metric deviation.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said landing aid radio unit comprises a receiver of a microwave landing system and wherein said receiver receives the position of the threshold of the runway from a ground station.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said landing aid radio unit comprises a receiver of a microwave landing system and wherein said position of the threshold of the runway is output by a database aboard the aircraft.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said landing aid radio unit comprises a receiver of an instrument landing system and wherein said position of the threshold of the runway is output by a database (15) aboard the aircraft.

10. A device for aiding the landing of an aircraft on a runway, said device comprising at least one landing aid radio unit and using an angular vertical position of the aircraft, said device further comprises:

a first section for determining in a stand-alone manner the position of the aircraft in latitude and longitude;

a second section for determining the position of the threshold of said runway in latitude and longitude; and

a computing unit for, on the basis of said positions of the aircraft and of the threshold of the runway, correcting said angular vertical position of the aircraft, the angular vertical position thus corrected being used to aid the landing of the aircraft, wherein said computing unit comprises;

a computing section for computing, on the basis of positions of the aircraft and of the threshold of the runway, a first distance corresponding to the distance in a horizontal plane between the aircraft and the threshold of the runway;

an addition section for adding to said first distance a distance in a horizontal plane between a predetermined ground reference point and said threshold of the runway so as to form a second distance;

a computing section for computing, with the aid of said second distance and of the value of the measured approach slope of the aircraft, a first height corresponding to a relative height of the aircraft with respect to the threshold of the runway;

a subtraction section for subtracting a predetermined metric deviation from said first height so as to form a second height; and

a correction section for correcting, on the basis of said second height and of said second distance, said angular vertical position of the aircraft, the corrected angular vertical position being used to aid landing of the aircraft.

11. The device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said first section comprises a GPS receiver aboard the aircraft.

12. The device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said second section comprises a receiver aboard the aircraft, cooperating with a ground station.

13. The device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said second section comprises a database.

14. The device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said landing aid radio section comprises a receiver of a microwave landing system.

15. The device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said landing aid radio section comprises a receiver of an instrument landing system.

16. The device as claimed in claim 10, which comprises a landing aid multimode receiver which comprises at least:

said landing aid radio section;

said first section; and

said computing unit.