Aircraft Landing Delay Margin Calculation for Runway Safety
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The final phase of an airplane's flight, particularly landing, is challenging due to factors like runway conditions, wind, and piloting techniques, leading to safety concerns and incidents, as pilots struggle to assess the safety margin for preventing longitudinal departures from the runway.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that calculate and display a landing delay margin (MRAmax) to determine the time needed for braking actions after touchdown to ensure the airplane stops before the runway end, using flight parameters and reference values to provide pilots with tangible information for decision-making.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If pilots rely on visual estimation of safety margin during approach phase, then no additional equipment is needed, but the accuracy of safety margin assessment deteriorates leading to runway departure incidents
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system (landing assistance device) that mediates between the complex physical conditions affecting landing safety and the pilot's decision-making process. The device calculates and presents the MRAmax parameter, which synthesizes multiple factors (runway length, aircraft performance, environmental conditions) into a single actionable metric, allowing pilots to assess safety margins accurately without needing to mentally process all underlying variables.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/visual estimation process with an electronic computation system. Instead of pilots visually estimating distances and calculating safety margins mentally, the system uses onboard sensors, performance data, and algorithms to automatically compute the maximum allowable delay margin, providing precise numerical guidance that substitutes for imprecise human visual judgment.
2Ease of operation
If pilots are provided with detailed landing parameter information, then decision-making quality improves, but information processing complexity and pilot workload increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the most critical piece of information (MRAmax - maximum allowable delay margin) from the complex set of landing parameters and presents it to the pilot. Rather than displaying all raw data about runway conditions, aircraft performance, wind, and braking capabilities, the system isolates and highlights the single most important metric that directly answers the pilot's decision question: 'How much delay can I afford?'
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms multiple complex parameters (runway friction, aircraft weight, speed, wind conditions, braking system status) into a single derived parameter (MRAmax) that is directly actionable. This parameter transformation simplifies the information hierarchy, converting detailed technical data into a clear guidance value that improves ease of operation without requiring the pilot to process the underlying complexity.
3Use of energy by moving object
If braking actions are delayed to maintain approach speed, then energy is conserved, but the risk of runway departure increases due to reduced stopping distance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables preliminary action by providing the pilot with advance knowledge of the maximum allowable delay margin before touchdown. The system calculates MRAmax based on current aircraft state and environmental conditions, allowing the pilot to plan braking actions in advance rather than reacting after the wheels touch down. This preliminary information allows energy conservation during approach while ensuring braking will be initiated at the optimal moment to maintain safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides continuous feedback to the pilot about the current delay margin status, allowing real-time adjustment of braking timing. As the aircraft approaches the runway and conditions change, the system updates the MRAmax calculation, giving the pilot feedback on how much delay is currently permissible. This feedback loop enables dynamic energy management that conserves approach energy while maintaining safety margins through informed timing decisions.
Data Source
AI summary
A method to assist in the landing of an airplane in its final flight phase, following a current approach path toward a runway, includes determining at a given flight point, a landing delay margin, called MRAmax, corresponding to an estimated delay during which the braking actions must be undertaken, after the wheels touch down, to enable the airplane to stop on the runway. A device includes equipment for acquiring parameters necessary to perform the method of assisting the landing of the airplane, a computer to determine the landing delay margin MRAmax from the parameters, and a display for presenting the information to alert the crew.