Aircraft Trajectory Wind Correction With Precomputed Wind Shifts

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for predicting aircraft trajectories under wind conditions require computationally intensive trigonometric functions, making it challenging to achieve accurate and efficient position calculations, especially for high-resolution and multiple trajectory modeling.

Innovation Solution

An avionics system that includes a sensor system to measure wind components and a data processor to generate wind-independent and wind-corrected positions along a potential aircraft trajectory, reducing the computational burden by precalculating wind effects and applying them to each position increment.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If complex trigonometric functions are used to calculate wind effects on aircraft trajectory, then measurement precision of aircraft position is improved, but device complexity and computational burden increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaircraft position accuracyVSAvoidcomputational complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The wind effect calculation is segmented into two independent components: longitudinal component (affecting speed) and lateral component (affecting position). This segmentation allows each component to be calculated separately using simpler arithmetic operations instead of complex trigonometric functions, resolving the contradiction between precision and computational complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent pre-calculates the longitudinal and lateral wind components before applying them to trajectory predictions. By performing this decomposition in advance and storing the components, the system avoids repeated complex trigonometric calculations during real-time trajectory modeling, reducing computational burden while maintaining accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Measurement precision

If high resolution and multiple trajectory modeling are performed, then measurement precision of aircraft performance prediction is improved, but productivity and computational speed decrease

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetrajectory prediction accuracyVSAvoidcomputational speed
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The wind components are pre-calculated and stored before multiple trajectory predictions are performed. This preliminary action allows the system to rapidly evaluate multiple trajectories by simply applying the pre-computed wind components to different flight paths, significantly improving computational speed while maintaining high-resolution accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

By segmenting wind effects into independent longitudinal and lateral components, the system enables parallel computation for multiple trajectories. Each trajectory can be evaluated by independently applying the same wind components, allowing for efficient batch processing of multiple high-resolution trajectory predictions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP4089501B1Potential aircraft trajectory wind effect computation
Publication Date: 2024.07.17 GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE CORP
  • EP4089501B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4089501B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4089501B1 patent drawing

AI summary

Systems, aircraft, and non-transitory media are provided. An avionics system for an aircraft includes a storage device and one or more data processors. The storage device stores instructions for monitoring an actual performance of the aircraft. The one or more data processors are configured to execute the instructions to: generate a lateral component and a longitudinal component of a measured moving air mass relative to the aircraft; generate a plurality of wind independent positions of the aircraft along a potential aircraft trajectory based on a prediction model; and generate a plurality of wind corrected positions of the aircraft based on the plurality of wind independent positions, on the lateral component, and on the longitudinal component.