Patent ID: 6405107
Filing Date: 2002-06-11
Classification: G01C

Abstract:
We claim an electronic instrumentation system which comprises positioning sensors such as satellite global positioning system hardware and controlling software, said hardware and software being designed to provide a pilot of an aircraft with both manual and automatic control of his aircraft under any known weather conditions, including complete blindness to surrounding conditions and loss of conventional instrumentation and instrument power, said system being comprised of (a) a position determining device, (b) a graphic display, (c) a computer system, (d) software, (e) input connectors, (f) knobs, and (g) switches, wherein items (a) through (g) replace and/or supplement the conventional aircraft instrumentation on an instrument display, and thereby allow the aircraft pilot to maintain complete control of his aircraft, either by manual response to graphic direction as depicted on the graphical display screen or automatically, without the need for manual intervention, to follow either predefined paths and patterns as well as navigation by presently accepted methods and defined locations, said electronic instrumentation system further being capable of determining position and velocity relative to three dimensional locations of airports, fixes, conventional navigational aids, and user input locations, generating standard and non-standard approaches, flight paths and search patterns associated with the aforementioned locations, calculating current air speed and direction, as well as providing direct or partial replacements for conventional aircraft displays and instruments including attitude indicator, altimeter, reporting altimeter, rate of climb indicator, turn and slip indicator, heading indicator, rate-of-turn indicator, clock, marker beacon receiver, Distance Measuring Equipment (DME), Vector Omni Range (VOR), Area Navigation (RNAV), Automatic Direction Finder (ADF), Instrument Landing System (ILS), and Long Range Navigation (LORAN) without the use of any moving parts except knobs, switches and connectors.