Aircraft Fuel Efficiency Tunnel Display for Altitude Planning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current aircraft graphical user interfaces lack the ability to effectively assess fuel efficiency implications from altitude changes or changing wind conditions, making it difficult for pilots to make optimal altitude decisions during flight, and providing insufficient support for predicting total trip fuel consumption impacts.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus that includes an input module for accepting flight plan data, environmental data, and an aircraft performance model, a calculation module to calculate aircraft performance and objective functions, and a display module to provide graphical representations of aircraft performance contour boundaries and vertical routing paths, enabling pilots to visualize fuel efficiency versus time of arrival and make informed decisions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If current aircraft graphical user interfaces are used, then the interface is simple and easy to operate, but the ability to assess fuel efficiency implications from altitude changes or wind conditions is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a vertical dimension to the traditional 2D flight path display by adding altitude as a third dimension. The efficiency tunnel is rendered as a 3D graphical representation that shows fuel efficiency variations along the flight path at different altitudes, allowing pilots to visualize fuel consumption implications vertically rather than just horizontally on a flat map.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an efficiency tunnel calculation module and graphical rendering module as intermediaries between the flight management system and the pilot interface. This intermediary processing layer computes fuel efficiency data along the flight path and transforms it into visual tunnel representations, bridging the gap between raw performance data and actionable pilot decisions without requiring direct complex calculations at the interface level.
2Measurement precision
If detailed aircraft performance calculations are performed, then fuel efficiency assessment is improved, but the computational complexity and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary calculations of the efficiency tunnel during flight planning and before the aircraft commences flight. By pre-computing fuel efficiency data along the entire flight path at various altitudes and storing this information, the system avoids performing complex real-time calculations during flight, reducing computational burden while maintaining precise fuel consumption measurements when needed for decision-making.
3Reliability
If real-time updates of aircraft performance model are implemented, then the accuracy of fuel efficiency predictions is improved, but the processing time and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic updates of the efficiency tunnel rather than continuous real-time recalculations. The aircraft performance model and efficiency tunnel are updated at predetermined intervals or when significant changes occur in flight conditions, balancing prediction accuracy with computational efficiency by avoiding unnecessary continuous processing while maintaining reliable information for pilot decisions.
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment includes an apparatus that supports a user to make planning decisions of fuel efficiency of an aircraft versus time of arrival of the aircraft along a flight path. An embodiment of the apparatus accepts input data related to the aircraft. The input data may include (i) flight plan data that includes a flight path of the aircraft, (ii) state of the aircraft along the flight path, (iii) environmental data, and (iv) an aircraft performance model of the aircraft. The apparatus calculates aircraft performance and an objective function for a range of altitudes and speeds as a function of the input data. The apparatus causes a user interface to display aircraft performance contour boundaries and a vertical routing path that meets the objective function to provide graphical representations to support a user's planning decisions.