Patent ID: 8025255
Filing Date: 2011-09-27
Classification: G05D

Abstract:
1. A method of piloting an aircraft to enable the aircraft to pick up and follow a vertical profile of a flight plan, whereby a first piloting mode is used enabling the aircraft to automatically pick up and automatically follow said vertical profile, and a second piloting mode is used enabling the crew of the aircraft to control the picking-up of said vertical profile, the method comprising: A/ in a first phase: B/ automatically initiating a second phase immediately after said current position of the aircraft is located in said engagement zone, in which the aircraft is piloted according to said first piloting mode which enables the aircraft to automatically pick up and automatically follow said vertical profile, wherein: within the engagement limit zone, the vertical profile cannot be picked up without overshooting it, the engagement limit zone is defined about a reference path and surrounds the vertical profile, and the vertical distance between the upper boundary of the engagement zone and the upper boundary of the engagement limit zone corresponds to a predetermined value.