Landing Assistance Display for Non-Towered Airport Traffic Sequencing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pilots at non-towered airports face challenges in managing aircraft traffic patterns and maintaining safe flying distances due to reliance on radio communications and visual correlation, increasing pilot workload.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilizes a common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) to receive traffic data, combines it with geospatial sensor data, and generates a graphical landing assistance display on the aircraft's display device, showing traffic patterns and aircraft positions to aid in sequencing and maintaining safe distances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pilots rely on radio communications and visual correlation to manage traffic patterns at non-towered airports, then they can maintain communication with other aircraft, but the pilot workload increases due to continuous monitoring and correlation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary electronic display that mediates between the pilot and the complex task of monitoring multiple aircraft. The display automatically processes CTAF communications and geospatial data, presenting synthesized traffic information graphically, thereby reducing the pilot's direct monitoring burden while maintaining reliable traffic pattern management
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/visual correlation method (pilot manually tracking aircraft positions through cockpit windows) with an electronic information processing system. The system automatically correlates radio communications with geospatial sensor data and generates graphical displays, substituting the pilot's manual correlation task with automated electronic processing
2Loss of information
If pilots continuously monitor CTAF communications and look out cockpit windows to correlate aircraft positions, then they can maintain situational awareness, but the pilot workload increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously receives feedback from CTAF communications and geospatial sensors, automatically updates the graphical display showing aircraft positions and traffic patterns, and presents this updated information to the pilot. This closed-loop feedback system maintains situational awareness without requiring continuous manual monitoring by the pilot
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a graphical copy or representation of the actual traffic situation on the display device. This visual copy shows aircraft positions, movements, and traffic patterns, providing the pilot with situational awareness through a simplified graphical model rather than direct visual correlation through the cockpit window
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for providing landing assistance at a non-towered airport onboard an aircraft. Traffic data associated with an intruder aircraft is received via a common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF). The traffic data includes a position of the intruder aircraft. An aircraft position of the aircraft is received from a geospatial sensor system of the aircraft. A determination is made regarding whether the position of the intruder aircraft is within a pre-defined distance of the non-towered airport. A landing assistance display including a graphical representation of a traffic pattern, the aircraft position of the aircraft, and the position of the first intruder aircraft with respect to the traffic pattern is generated for display on a display device onboard the aircraft based on the determination.