Flight Plan Sequencing for Accurate Direct Clearance Distance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flight management systems (FMS) provide inaccurate or misleading distance-to-go calculations when aircraft deviate from a flight plan due to direct clearances, as they maintain inactive legs, leading to confusion and potential safety issues.
Innovation Solution
A flight management system (FMS) that updates graphical user interface (GUI) displays by identifying sequencing points based on the aircraft's current heading and bisection of downpath waypoints, adjusting distances accordingly to maintain accurate distance-to-go information and remove inactive waypoints once traversed, ensuring compliance with A424 standards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the FMS maintains original flight plan legs after a direct to clearance is issued, then A424 leg sequencing compliance is achieved, but distance to go calculations become inaccurate or misleading
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the flight plan representation based on aircraft position. When the aircraft is off the original flight plan route, the FMS dynamically constructs a new active flight plan that includes a direct to leg from the departure point to the downpath waypoint, while maintaining the original legs in an inactive state for A424 compliance. This dynamic reconfiguration resolves the contradiction by adapting the system behavior to the current operational context.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight plan is segmented into active and inactive legs. The inactive legs maintain the original flight plan structure for A424 sequencing compliance, while the active flight plan contains only the relevant segments (direct to leg and remaining active legs) for accurate distance to go calculations. This segmentation allows both requirements to coexist without conflict.
2Ease of operation
If the FMS constructs a direct to sequencing leg for automated heading control, then heading automation is facilitated, but the original flight plan legs remain inactive causing confusion
Solution Approach 1:
The FMS dynamically manages the visibility and activity status of flight plan legs based on the direct to clearance state. When a direct to clearance is active, the system dynamically suppresses or grays out the inactive original legs in the display, preventing pilot confusion while maintaining the underlying A424 compliant structure. This dynamic display management resolves the information clarity issue while preserving automation benefits.
3Reliability
If the FMS displays distance to go based on the original flight plan route, then A424 sequencing is maintained, but the displayed distance does not reflect the actual aircraft position relative to the direct to waypoint
Solution Approach 1:
The distance to go calculation is segmented into two separate systems: one for A424 sequencing that uses the original flight plan legs, and another for pilot information that calculates distance along the active direct to leg. This segmentation allows the sequencing system to maintain integrity with the original plan while providing accurate real-time distance information to the pilot based on the actual flight path being flown.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary calculation layer that translates between the A424 sequencing framework (original legs) and the actual flight path (direct to leg). This intermediary computes the equivalent distance to go along the direct to path while respecting the sequencing requirements of the original plan, effectively mediating between the two conflicting requirements.
Data Source
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AI summary
Aircraft systems and methods are provided for assisting operation of an aircraft deviating from a flight plan to fly a shortcut to a downpath location. One method involves providing a graphical user interface (GUI) display including a graphical indication of a distance between a current aircraft location and a next downpath waypoint of the flight plan, and in response to a difference between the current aircraft location and the flight plan route exceeding a threshold, identifying a heading of the aircraft, determining a sequencing point corresponding to an intersection of the heading and a bisection of a downpath waypoint flight plan perpendicular to a heading associated with the downpath waypoint, calculating an updated distance between the current aircraft location and the sequencing point along the heading, and updating the graphical indication based on the updated distance.