Aviation Navigation System for Emergency Landing Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current navigation systems fail to adequately assist aircraft pilots in selecting and navigating towards emergency landing areas, particularly in conditions of engine failure, due to errors in calculating maximum glide distance and limited visibility, which can lead to unsuccessful landings.
Innovation Solution
A computer-aided navigation system that plans flight paths to maintain the aircraft within a safe gliding distance of emergency landing areas, using classified landing sites and aircraft-specific data, while minimizing flight time or fuel consumption, and providing in-flight adjustments for emergency landings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current navigation systems are used for emergency landing selection, then pilots have autonomy in flight path choice, but the systems fail to adequately assist in selecting emergency landing areas due to calculation errors and limited visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a computer-based intermediary system that acts as a mediator between the pilot and the complex task of emergency landing area selection. The system receives pilot input (current location, aircraft type, weather conditions) and automatically processes this information to identify and rank suitable emergency landing areas, thereby improving reliability without requiring the pilot to directly perform complex calculations or analyses
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-identifying and classifying potential emergency landing areas before the pilot needs to make a critical decision. It calculates glide distances, evaluates terrain suitability, and ranks landing sites in advance, allowing the pilot to receive ready-prepared recommendations rather than having to perform these calculations under emergency pressure
2Measurement precision
If pilots manually calculate maximum glide distance and identify landing areas, then they maintain control over navigation decisions, but errors in calculation and target identification can be fatal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical calculation process with an automated computer-based system. Instead of pilots manually computing glide distances using formulas and reference tables, the system automatically performs these calculations using stored aircraft performance data and current environmental conditions, significantly improving measurement precision while reducing the time required
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by automatically gathering all necessary information (aircraft performance data, weather conditions, terrain information) and performing calculations without requiring the pilot to manually collect or process this data. The pilot simply provides basic input parameters and receives processed results, eliminating the time-consuming manual information gathering process
3Reliability
If flight planning keeps aircraft within safe gliding distance of emergency landing areas, then emergency landing success probability increases, but the information gathering and calculation required are too burdensome for detailed consideration
Solution Approach 1:
The computer system serves as an intermediary that handles the burdensome information gathering and calculation tasks during flight planning. It automatically processes aircraft performance data, weather forecasts, and terrain information to generate flight plans that maintain the aircraft within safe gliding distance of emergency landing areas, making the complex process easy to operate
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary analysis during the flight planning stage, identifying suitable emergency landing areas and calculating safe gliding distances before the flight begins. This preliminary action allows pilots to review and approve pre-computed routes that ensure emergency landing capability without having to perform detailed calculations during the actual flight
4Ease of manufacture
If pilots practice power-off landings from cruise altitude, then they improve landing skill, but the likelihood of missing the target increases in poor visibility or significant wind conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides continuous feedback to the pilot during the approach and landing process. It monitors the aircraft's position, glide path, and approach parameters, comparing actual performance against the planned approach and providing corrective guidance to keep the aircraft on the optimal glide path to the selected emergency landing area, thereby improving target accuracy in adverse conditions
Data Source
AI summary
A system operates to guide an aircraft to or along a route designed to maintain the aircraft within a safe glide distance of an acceptable —radar or radio coverage—area. The system uses a database of —radar or radio coverage—areas with glide characteristics of an aircraft to determine a route that minimizes travel time or other specified parameter, while keeping the aircraft within a safe glide distance of a —radar or radio coverage—area in the database meeting the —radar or radio coverage—requirements for the aircraft.