Low visibility landing system and method

• US 8,374,737 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2011
• Issued: 02/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation (General Dynamics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation (General Dynamics Corporation)
• Inventors: Takacs, Robert S., Freeman, Gary M., Connor, Glenn L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): Marc, McDieunel
• Application Number:
  US13/243,698
• Publication Number:
  US 20120065817A1
• Time in Patent Office: 508 Days
• Field of Search: 700/3, 700/4, 700/9, 700/11, 700/14, 700/16, 700/120, 700/200, 700/207, 700/208, 700/301, 340/961, 340/960, 340/970, 340/980, 342/33, 342/35, 342/36, 342/38, 342/58, 342/357.31, 342/455, 235/61.NV, 235/78.N, 244/17.13, 244/189, 731/78.H
• US Class Current: 701/17
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0676 specially adapted for landing
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/025 Navigation or guidance aids radar or analogous systems specially adapted for landing purposes G01S13/913

Abstract

A low visibility landing system is provided for guiding aircraft on landing approaches. The low visibility landing system may aid a pilot during landing in low visibility conditions such that an aircraft may descend to lower altitudes without visual contact with the runway than is possible with other landing systems. The system may use various navigational systems to produce a hybrid signal that may be more stable than individual signals of those navigational systems. The hybrid signal is compared to a predetermined landing approach plan to determine the deviation of the aircraft from the landing approach plan and to provide guidance to the pilot to get the aircraft back onto the landing approach plan. The system may also use multiple navigational systems to perform checks on an operation of a primary navigational system to ensure that the primary navigational system is operating accurately.

Claims

1. A landing system for an aircraft, comprising:

a first navigational device to generate a first navigational signal representative of a deviation of the aircraft from a first predetermined landing approach plan;

a second navigational device to generate a second navigational signal representative of a deviation of the aircraft from a second predetermined landing approach plan, the second predetermined landing approach plan being different from the first predetermined landing approach plan; and

a flight computer to combine the first navigational signal and the second navigational signal to produce a hybrid signal, the hybrid signal comprising a navigational signal having a greater accuracy than the first navigational signal and the second navigational signal.

2. The landing system of claim 1, wherein providing guidance comprises alerting a pilot to abort a landing approach if the hybrid signal exceeds a first predetermined threshold.

3. The landing system of claim 1, wherein the first navigational device comprises an Instrument Landing System (ILS).

4. The landing system of claim 3, wherein the second navigational device is a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS).

5. The landing system of claim 1, wherein the first navigational device comprises a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS).

6. The landing system of claim 4, wherein the second navigational device is a an Instrument Landing System (ILS).

7. The landing system of claim 1,

wherein the flight computer further determines a failure of the first navigational signal if the deviation of the first navigational signal from a first landing approach plan exceeds a second predetermined threshold;

and the flight computer further determines a failure of the second navigational signal if the deviation of the second navigational signal from a second landing approach plan exceeds a third predetermined threshold, and

wherein the flight computer instructing a pilot to abort a landing approach if the flight computer determines at least one of;

the failure of the first navigational signal or the failure of the second navigational signal.

8. The landing system of claim 1, wherein the flight computer determines a difference between the first navigational signal and the second navigational signal, the flight computer instructing a pilot to abort the landing if the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold.

9. The landing system of claim 1, wherein the first navigational device and the second navigational device are housed within a single navigational instrument.

10. A landing system for an aircraft, comprising:

a first navigational device to generate a first navigational signal representative of a deviation of the aircraft from a first approach;

a second navigational device to generate a second navigational signal representative of a deviation of the aircraft from a second approach; and

a flight computer to provide guidance to a pilot in directing the aircraft onto a predetermined landing approach plan, the flight computer alerting the pilot to abort a landing approach if a difference between the first navigational signal and the second navigational signal exceeds a first predetermined threshold.

11. The landing system of claim 10, wherein the flight computer is configured to alert the pilot to abort the landing approach if the deviation represented by the first navigational signal exceeds a second predetermined threshold.

12. The landing system of claim 10, wherein the flight computer is configured to alert the pilot to abort the landing approach if the deviation represented by the second navigational signal exceeds a third predetermined threshold.

13. The landing system of claim 10, wherein the first navigational device comprises an Instrument Landing System (ILS).

14. The landing system of claim 13, wherein the second navigational device is a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS).

15. The landing system of claim 10, wherein the first navigational device comprises a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS).

16. The landing system of claim 15, wherein the second navigational device is a an Instrument Landing System (ILS).

17. The landing system of claim 10, wherein the first navigational device and the second navigational device are housed within a single navigational instrument.

18. A method for landing an aircraft, comprising:

generating a first navigational signal from a first navigational device representative of a deviation of the aircraft from a first predetermined landing approach plan;

generating a second navigational signal from a second navigational device representative of a deviation of the aircraft from a second predetermined landing approach plan;

combining the first navigational signal and the second navigational signal to produce a hybrid signal, the hybrid signal comprising a navigational signal having a greater accuracy than the first navigational signal and the second navigational signal; and

providing guidance for the aircraft based on the hybrid signal.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising advising a pilot to abort a landing approach if the deviation of the hybrid signal exceeds a first predetermined threshold.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

rejecting the first navigational signal if the deviation represented by the first navigational signal exceeds a second predetermined threshold; and

rejecting the second navigational signal if the deviation represented by the second navigational signal exceeds a third predetermined threshold.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the first navigational device and the second navigational device are housed within a single navigational instrument.

22. A method for landing an aircraft, comprising:

generating a first navigational signal from a first navigational device representative of a deviation of the aircraft from a first predetermined landing approach plan;

generating a second navigational signal from a second navigational device representative of a deviation of the aircraft from a second predetermined landing approach plan;

guiding the aircraft along the first predetermined landing approach plan based on the first navigational signal; and

alerting a pilot to abort a landing if a difference between the first navigational signal and the second navigational signal exceeds a first predetermined threshold.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising alerting the pilot to abort a landing approach if the first navigational signal exceeds a second predetermined threshold.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising alerting the pilot to abort a landing approach if the second navigational signal exceeds a third predetermined threshold.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the first navigational device and the second navigational device are housed in a single navigational instrument.