Patent ID: 9031720
Filing Date: 2015-05-12
Classification: G05D,G08G

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method for controlling an aircraft's flight plan and guiding an aircraft based on prediction of the aircraft's vertical trajectory, comprising the following flight calculation modules: Takeoff; Climb; Cruise; Descent; and Landing, corresponding to relevant flight phases, wherein the following steps are executed: calculating by a computer processor a predicted aircraft trajectory using the following total energy model (TEM) equations: solving said equations for VRCD, TAS, and m where VRCD is vertical rate of climb or descent; TAS is true air speed, ESF is the energy share factor, T is thrust and D drag, m the mass of the aircraft modeled as point-mass, {M} is the Mach number depending on TAS and temperature and altitude, g is gravity acceleration, and f is fuel flow, and γ is the flight path angle; calculating the predicted aircraft trajectory for Cruise phase, wherein only the mass is varying, by using the following analytical solution to said TEM equations: solved for mass m fin at the end of the cruise phase as a function of initial mass min, and wherein t is elapsed flight time, k 9 and k 10 are constant terms predefined according to the aircraft sending the predicted aircraft trajectory to an Air Traffic Management (ATM) controller, which decides the flight plan accordingly; communicating, by the ATM controller the flight plan to the aircraft; guiding the aircraft to follow the flight plan; the TEM equation being solved: each time a flight plan is needed or changed; each time, within a fixed flight plan, the difference between the actual position of the aircraft, given by a radar detection, and the predicted position is greater than a pre-defined value.