METHOD AND DEVICE FOR AIDING THE MANAGEMENT OF SUCCESSIVE FLIGHTS OF AN AIRCRAFT

• US 20100030404A1
• Filed: 07/26/2007
• Published: 02/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus France
• Inventors: BERARD, Jeremy
• Granted Patent: US 8,027,757 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/14
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/005 Flight directors indicating arrangements specially adapted for rotary gyroscopes G01C19/32

Abstract

Method and device for aiding the management of successive flights of an aircraft.

The device (1) comprises means (3) which use values recorded automatically for a flight, to automatically determine the values of characteristic parameters for waypoints of a next flight.

Claims

1. A method of aiding the management of flights, for successive flights of an aircraft (A), which are such that the destination (D1) of any flight Vn corresponds to the origin (O2) of the next flight Vn+1, n being an integer greater than or equal to 1, each flight being carried out according to a particular flight plan comprising a plurality of waypoints (O1, A1, B1, D1;

O2, A2, B2, C2, D2), according to which method the values of a plurality of characteristic parameters, including at least some of the following characteristic parameters;

the time of transit, the speed, the altitude and the mass of fuel on board, are determined automatically, for each flight, with the aid of initial data, of the corresponding flight plan and of characteristics related to the aircraft (A), for each waypoint of said flight plan,

wherein;

for each flight Vn, the values existing at the last waypoint (D1, D2) which corresponds to the destination of this flight Vn are recorded automatically, doing so for at least some of said characteristic parameters; and

for a next flight Vn+1, at least some of the values recorded for the flight Vn are used automatically as initial data, to determine the values of the various characteristic parameters relating to said flight Vn+1.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the values of the characteristic parameters are determined with the aid of at least one prediction function.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1,

wherein, if an operator provides time information corresponding to the time spent on the ground by the aircraft (A) between a flight Vn and the next flight Vn+1, then the sum of the value of the time of arrival of the flight Vn, which was recorded automatically at the end of said flight Vn, and of the time information provided by the operator is used as value of the departure time of said flight Vn+1.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein, if an operator provides mass information corresponding to a variation in fuel-less mass achieved on the ground between a flight Vn and the next flight Vn+1, then the sum of the value of the mass of fuel on board, which was recorded at the end of the flight Vn, of the unladen mass of the aircraft (A), and of the mass information provided by the operator is used as value of the total mass of the aircraft (A) at the departure of said flight Vn+1.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1,

wherein, if an operator provides the values of initial data for a flight Vn+1, then said values provided by the operator are used by priority with respect to the values recorded for the previous flight Vn, for the same data.

6. A device for aiding the management of flights, for successive flights of an aircraft (A), which are such that the destination (D1) of a flight Vn corresponds to the origin (O2) of the next flight Vn+1, n being an integer greater than or equal to 1, each flight being carried out according to a particular flight plan comprising a plurality of waypoints (O1, A1, B1, D1;

O2, A2, B2, C2, D2), said device (1) comprising;

first means (2) for inputting data; and

second means (3) for automatically determining for each flight, with the aid of initial data, of the corresponding flight plan and of characteristics relating to the aircraft (A), for each waypoint of said flight plan, the values of a plurality of characteristic parameters, including at least some of the following characteristic parameters the transit time, the speed, the altitude and the mass of fuel on board,

wherein;

said device (1) moreover comprises;

third means (6) for automatically recording, on at least one recording medium (8), for each flight Vn, the values existing at the last waypoint (D1, D2) which corresponds to the destination of this flight Vn, doing so for at least some of said characteristic parameters; and

fourth means (9) for automatically transmitting said values recorded on said recording medium (8) to said second means (3); and

said second means (3) are formed so as to automatically use, for a next flight Vn+1, at least some of the values recorded for a flight Vn, as initial data, so as to determine the values of the various characteristic parameters relating to said flight Vn+1.

7. The device as claimed in claim 6,

which comprises, moreover, automatic selection means (10) which select by priority values input with the aid of said first means (2) with respect to values relating to the same data which were recorded by said third means (6), so that they are transmitted to said second means (3) and used by the latter.