Method and device for adjusting the trajectory of an aircraft in a climb circuit

• US 8,244,453 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2010
• Issued: 08/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: Lacombe, Antoine, Blanchon, Xavier, Coulmeau, François
• Primary Examiner(s): BROWN, DREW J
• Application Number:
  US12/766,892
• Publication Number:
  US 20100274419A1
• Time in Patent Office: 842 Days
• Field of Search: 701/3, 701/4, 701/8, 701120-122, 340/945, 340/951, 244/76.R
• US Class Current: 701/122
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0661 specially adapted for take-off
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0065 for taking-off

Abstract

A method of adjusting the trajectory of an aircraft flying a climb circuit, of substantially helical form corresponding to a succession of racetracks, denoted HOLD, the last HOLD, called the exit HOLD, having predefined geometric characteristics and comprising a lock-on point, allowing the aircraft to enter and to exit in the HOLD, the aircraft attaining the setpoint altitude of the climb circuit during the flight of the exit HOLD, comprises at least three steps, including: a step of computing the prediction of the position of the aircraft when the setpoint altitude will be attained; a step of computing the remaining distance to be traveled, between the position of the aircraft when the setpoint altitude will be attained and the lock-on point; and a step making it possible to carry out an adaptation of the form of the exit HOLD so as to minimize the remaining distance to be traveled DELTA.

Claims

1. A method of adjusting the trajectory of an aircraft flying a climb circuit, in a phase following a takeoff, the climb circuit comprising a substantially helical trajectory corresponding to a succession of portions of trajectories having the form of a racetrack, each racetrack being called a HOLD, the last HOLD, called the exit HOLD, having predefined geometric characteristics and comprising a notable point, denoted FIX_I/O and called the lock-on point, defined in latitude and in longitude allowing the aircraft to enter and to exit in the exit HOLD, the aircraft attaining a setpoint altitude of the climb circuit during the flight of the exit HOLD, the aircraft being able to exit the exit HOLD once the setpoint altitude has been attained and the lock-on point traversed and to begin a cruising flight, wherein a computer of the aircraft makes it possible to perform:

a first step of computing the prediction of the position of the aircraft in the climb circuit when the setpoint altitude will be attained, the predicted point being denoted EPTA;

a second step of computing the remaining distance to be traveled, denoted DELTA, between the position of the aircraft in the exit HOLD when the setpoint altitude will be attained and the lock-on point of the climb circuit;

the check of a first condition making it possible to carry out a third step of adapting the form of the initial exit HOLD into a new exit HOLD, denoted optimized HOLD, so as to minimize the remaining distance to be traveled, the optimized HOLD passing through the lock-on point.

2. A method of adjusting the trajectory of an aircraft flying a climb circuit, according to claim 1, wherein the initial exit HOLD comprises two portions each forming a semicircle of the same radius and two rectilinear portions of the same length joining the two semicircles.

3. A method of adjusting the trajectory of an aircraft flying a climb circuit, according to claim 2, wherein the third step is carried out when a first condition is satisfied, the first condition satisfying the fact that the distance DELTA is greater than a first predefined constant, denoted ALPHA, corresponding to the stopping distance for the optimization of the size of the exit HOLD.

4. A method of adjusting the trajectory of an aircraft flying a climb circuit, according to claim 3, wherein the third step comprises a first adaptation of the exit HOLD whose optimized form corresponding to a first complete circle of the same radius as the two semicircles of the initial exit HOLD, the first adaptation being carried out when the remaining distance to be traveled on the exit HOLD is less than the perimeter of the first circle.

5. A method of adjusting the trajectory of an aircraft flying a climb circuit, according to claim 3, wherein the third step comprises a second adaptation of the exit HOLD, whose form corresponding to a reduced racetrack, the initial rectilinear portions being reduced by one and the same length, the two semicircles remaining of the same size, the second adaptation being carried out when the remaining distance to be traveled on the exit HOLD is greater than the perimeter of the first circle.

6. A method of adjusting the trajectory of an aircraft flying a climb circuit, according to claim 5, wherein the length of each reduced rectilinear portion of the optimized HOLD is substantially equal to half the sum of:

the distance between the position of the point of attainment of the setpoint altitude in the exit HOLD and the position of the lock-on point FIX_I/O of the exit HOLD;

a margin distance, denoted THETA, corresponding to the time necessary to recompute a new trajectory using the computer of the aircraft;

the negative value of the length of a semicircle of the HOLD.

7. A method of adjusting the trajectory of an aircraft flying a climb circuit, according to claim 6, wherein the margin distance THETA is substantially equal to half the radius of a semicircle of the exit HOLD.

8. A method of adjusting the trajectory of an aircraft flying a climb circuit, according to claim 6, wherein the first constant is substantially equal to either:

the perimeter of the circle having as radius, the radius of the semicircles of the exit HOLD, when the length between the lock-on point and the point of attainment of the setpoint altitude is less than the perimeter of the circle having as radius, the radius of the semicircles of the exit HOLD, the said length being measured using the lock-on point and in the direction of flight of the aircraft;

or

the value of the margin distance, when the length between the lock-on point and the point of attainment of the setpoint altitude is greater than the perimeter of the circle having as radius, the radius of the semicircles of the exit HOLD.

9. A method of adjusting the trajectory of an aircraft flying a climb circuit, according to claim 3, wherein the first constant is substantially equal to the perimeter of the circle having as radius, the radius of the semicircles of the exit HOLD.

10. A method of adjusting the trajectory of an aircraft flying a climb circuit, according to claim 3, wherein when a first optimized HOLD has been computed, a second condition is satisfied before performing a new prediction of the position of the aircraft in the climb circuit when the setpoint altitude will be attained.

11. A method of adjusting the trajectory of an aircraft flying a climb circuit, according to claim 10, wherein the second condition satisfies the fact that the new position of attainment of the setpoint altitude in the optimized HOLD is situated after the lock-on point.

12. An avionics system for an aircraft comprising:

a navigation database, denoted NAVDB, making it possible to construct geographical routes and procedures using data included in the base;

a performance database, denoted PRF DB, containing the aircraft'"'"'s aerodynamic and engine parameters;

a computer, denoted FPLN, generating a flight plan and making it possible to input the geographical elements constituting the skeleton of the route to be followed, the said elements being stored in the navigation database;

a navigation computer, denoted LOCNAV, making it possible to perform the location of the aircraft as a function of geo-location means;

a lateral trajectories computer, denoted TRAJ, which makes it possible to construct a continuous trajectory using the points of a flight plan that arise from the navigation database;

a vertical trajectories computer, denoted PRED, making it possible to construct an optimized vertical profile on the lateral trajectory and data of the performance database,

wherein the first step of the method according to one of the preceding claims is activated using an interface for managing the flight plan, a new trajectory being generated during the time period between;

the aircraft'"'"'s current position determined using the navigation computer; and

the point of attainment of a setpoint altitude in the exit HOLD using the computers of trajectories TRAJ and PRED and the performance database.