Determination of runway landing conditions

• US 7,586,422 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2006
• Issued: 09/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Goodman, William L., Shafaat, Syed T., Imrich, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham; Toan N
• Assistant Examiner(s): McNally; Kerri L
• Application Number:
  US11/461,880
• Publication Number:
  US 20080030073A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,133 Days
• Field of Search: 340/971, 340/945
• US Class Current: 340/945
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/1703 for aircrafts
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/172 Determining control parameters used in the regulation, e.g. by calculations involving measured or detected parameters B60T8/17551 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 25/426 Braking devices providing an automatic sequence of braking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0091 for monitoring atmospheric conditions radar or analogous systems specially adapted for meteorological use G01S13/95; meteorology G01W
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/025 Navigation or guidance aids radar or analogous systems specially adapted for landing purposes G01S13/913

Abstract

The invention discloses differing embodiments of methods, aircraft, and apparatus for determining the landing conditions of a runway. In one embodiment, braking data may be collected from an aircraft which has landed on the runway; a braking performance measurement of the aircraft may be calculated based on the braking data; and a normalized braking performance measurement may be determined based on the braking performance measurement. The invention may be utilized to predict the expected braking performance of various types of aircraft on the runway. The invention may provide landing performance information to a broad host of users, and/or may be used as a basis for the development of a new aviation standard for the reporting of runway braking action.

Claims

1. A method for determining a real-time and expected braking conditions for aircraft landing on a runway comprising:

collecting real-time braking data from aircraft landing on the runway using apparatus on the aircraft comprising at least one computer, wherein the braking data comprises initial touch-down runway locations of the landing aircraft, initial aircraft velocities at the initial touch-down runway locations, final runway locations of the aircraft, and final aircraft velocities at the final runway locations;

calculating real-time braking performance measurements of the aircraft based on said real-time braking data using said apparatus, wherein the real-time braking performance measurements comprise real-time runway deceleration measurements of the landing aircraft;

determining real-time normalized braking performance measurements based on said real-time braking performance measurements of said aircraft using said apparatus, wherein the real-time normalized braking performance measurements comprise expected braking performances of standard aircraft landing on said runway taking into account at least one of wind speed, wind direction, weights of the aircraft, types of the aircraft, air temperature, configurations of the aircraft, Minimum Equipment List conditions, thrust reverse conditions, non-normal conditions, the initial aircraft velocities at the initial touch-down runway locations, and the final aircraft velocities at the final runway locations;

displaying in real-time at least one of said real-time braking performance measurements and said real-time normalized braking performance measurements to at least one of air traffic control and other aircraft in order to evaluate braking conditions in real-time; and

determining in real-time expected braking performances for different types of aircraft landing on the runway based on said real-time normalized braking performance measurements.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the displaying in real-time step comprises displaying to said other aircraft at least one of said real-time braking performance measurements and said real-time normalized braking performance measurements.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said final runway locations comprise at least one of locations where said aircraft are ready to taxi off said runway, pre-determined locations on said runway, and locations where said aircraft are stopped.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said pre-determined locations on said runway are based, at least in part, on a length of said runway.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the method utilizes aircraft auto-braking apparatus.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said normalized braking performance measurements comprise the normalization of the real-time deceleration measurements of the landing aircraft for determining the expected braking performances of the standard aircraft landing on said runway in terms of deceleration rates.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said standard aircraft represent generic, non-descript aircraft.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said normalized braking performance measurements represent the expected braking performances of the standard aircraft landing on a standard day on said runway.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said standard day represents a day with normal landing conditions.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of preparing a dynamic display showing at least one of said real-time braking performance measurements and said real-time normalized braking performance measurements at particular locations over the runway.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the dynamic display shows, for different types of landing aircraft, at least one of said real-time braking performance measurements and said real-time normalized braking performance measurements at said particular locations over the runway for each of said different types of aircraft.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of assigning a minimum standard sustainable deceleration rate for continued operation of said runway in hazardous weather conditions.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of determining whether the runway should be shut down due to hazardous conditions by comparing at least one of said real-time braking performance measurements and said real-time normalized braking performance measurements to said minimum standard sustainable deceleration rate.

14. Landed aircraft, wherein during the landing of said aircraft on a runway, real-time braking data was collected using apparatus on the aircraft comprising at least one computer, wherein the braking data comprises initial touch-down runway locations of the landed aircraft, initial aircraft velocities at the initial touch-down runway locations, final runway locations of the aircraft, and final aircraft velocities at the final runway locations, wherein real-time braking performance measurements of the aircraft were calculated based on said real-time braking data using said apparatus, wherein the real-time braking performance measurements comprise real-time runway deceleration measurements of the landed aircraft, wherein real-time normalized braking performance measurements were determined based on said real-time braking performance measurements of said landed aircraft using said apparatus, wherein the real-time normalized braking performance measurements comprise expected braking performances of standard aircraft landing on said runway taking into account at least one of wind speed, wind direction, weights of the aircraft, types of the aircraft, air temperature, configurations of the aircraft, Minimum Equipment List conditions, thrust reverse conditions, non-normal conditions, the initial aircraft velocities at the initial touch-down runway locations, and the final aircraft velocities at the final runway locations, wherein at least one of said real-time braking performance measurements and said real-time normalized braking performance measurements were displayed in real-time to at least one of air traffic control and other aircraft in order to evaluate braking conditions in real-time, and wherein real-time expected braking performances for different types of aircraft were determined based on the real-time normalized braking performance measurements.

15. The landed aircraft of claim 14 wherein said landed aircraft have aircraft auto-braking apparatus.

16. Computer apparatus for aircraft, the computer apparatus for collecting real-time aircraft braking data for aircraft as they land on a runway, wherein the braking data comprises initial touch-down runway locations of the landing aircraft, initial aircraft velocities at the initial touch-down runway locations, final runway locations of the aircraft, and final aircraft velocities at the final runway locations, the computer apparatus for calculating real-time aircraft braking performance measurements of the landing aircraft based on said real-time braking data, wherein the real-time braking performance measurements comprise real-time runway deceleration measurements of the landing aircraft, the computer apparatus for determining real-time normalized braking performance measurements based on said calculated real-time aircraft braking performance measurements of said landing aircraft, wherein the real-time normalized braking performance measurements comprise expected braking performances of standard aircraft landing on said runway taking into account at least one of wind speed, wind direction, weights of the aircraft, types of the aircraft, air temperature, configurations of the aircraft, Minimum Equipment List conditions, thrust reverse conditions, non-normal conditions, the initial aircraft velocities at the initial touch-down runway locations, and the final aircraft velocities at the final runway locations, the computer apparatus for communicating at least one of said calculated real-time aircraft braking performance measurements and said determined real-time normalized braking performance measurements to at least one of air traffic control and other aircraft in order to evaluate real-time braking conditions, and the computer apparatus for determining in real-time expected braking performances for different types of aircraft landing on the runway based on said real-time normalized braking performance measurements.

17. The computer apparatus of claim 16 wherein said computer apparatus utilize aircraft auto-braking apparatus.