Patent ID: 8280564
Filing Date: 2012-10-02
Classification: G08G

Abstract:
1. Method for optimizing an exit of an aircraft traversing, for a predetermined duration, a holding circuit forming a racecourse, said predetermined duration comprising a time constraint given by the air traffic controller (ATC) in advance for exit from the holding circuit and being defined by the duration remaining to be flown in the holding circuit before going to the exit point at the time constraint received by the aircraft from the ATC, said racecourse comprising two parallel branches of the same distance, the branches being traversed in a first time, t 1 , and two arcs of the same radius linking respectively ends of each branch, the two arcs being traversed in a second time, t 2 , the holding circuit comprising an exit point situated at the end of one of the branches, a loop of the holding circuit traversed by the aircraft being defined as starting and ending at the exit point, the method comprising: automatically adjusting, using a computer during flight of the aircraft, the distance of the branches of the holding circuit for the last two loops traversed by the aircraft as a function of said predetermined duration so that the aircraft is substantially in proximity to the exit point when the predetermined duration has elapsed; determining a duration D corresponding to a duration between a first pass of the aircraft and a last pass of the aircraft through the exit point; calculating a number of whole loops of the holding circuit remaining to be traversed before reaching the exit point after a duration D, the number of whole loops being denoted by n and corresponding to the integer part of D/(t determining a number of loops of the holding circuit with a modified length, the number of loops of the holding circuit with a modified length being 1 or 2; and calculating the length of the branches of the last two loops.