Abstract:
An aircraft camera system is described for passenger entertainment and safety that includes several arrays of digital cameras mounted on a passenger aircraft. These arrays of digital cameras, which include a top camera array, a bottom camera array, and two side camera arrays, are connected to and controlled by a central computer system. These arrays of digital cameras are positioned to view the wings, tail section, engines, and flaps on the aircraft as well as views of the horizon and ground. The passengers can access the views gathered by these multiple cameras for entertainment on their personal liquid crystal display screens, mounted in the rear back portion of each passenger seat. The crew can access the views gathered by these multiple cameras to check on the integrity of the aircraft. Also, in an emergency, the flight crew can restrict camera access to the passengers, to prevent panic.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to the field of camera viewing systems for commercial aircraft. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system of digital cameras operated by a central computer to enhance pilot visibility both in the air and while on the runway, permit observation of aircraft status during flight, and provide in-flight passenger entertainment.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0002]    To safely fly an aircraft, a pilot must have full knowledge about the condition of the aircraft. It is not uncommon for damage to occur to the aircraft during flight. During one such flight, the Concorde supersonic passenger aircraft experienced a punctured fuel tank due to a burst tire. The fuel began to leak out of the top of one of the wings. A passenger saw the damage and immediately called for a flight attendant. Due to the fact that the pilots did not have an onboard camera to view the state of the wings, the pilot had to walk back into the passenger cabin to view the damage. At first the pilot could not see the damage. It was not until the passenger shoved the pilot&#39;s head against the window that the damage became visible. Fortunately, on this flight, the pilots safely returned the Concorde and its passengers to the airport. If the passenger had not seen the damage and altered the crew, the outcome could have turned out far worse.  
           [0003]    In addition to the above problem experienced by the Concorde, aircraft can incur various other types of damage during flight. Impacts with birds can damage engines or the rear tail section and stabilizers. Icing conditions can lead to aircraft stalling. Poor maintenance and worn parts have caused engines to fall off during flight. Alaska Airlines experienced a jammed stabilizer that the pilots attempted to compensate for, rather than land. Had the pilots known the extent of the actual problem, they could have landed immediately. Microscopic cracks in the fuselage have caused gaping holes to burst in the aircraft passenger cabin during the pressurized conditions of high altitude flight. These are all forms of aircraft damage that a pilot needs immediate and accurate information of, in order to safely fly the aircraft to an airport.  
           [0004]    To successfully deal with damage incurred by the aircraft, it is necessary that the pilot have as much knowledge as possible about the state of the aircraft. One method of providing as much information as possible to the pilot is through an on-board camera viewing system. Through placing various cameras around the aircraft, it is possible to enhance the pilot visibility, allowing the pilot to acquire an accurate understand of the condition of the aircraft.  
           [0005]    Aside from safety, there is another highly beneficial use for an on-board camera system. One of the most popular activities on an aircraft is to look out the window. Unfortunately, generally only the passengers seated right next to the window can really enjoy the view. Further, even the passenger with the window seat can only see what is out his window. Typically, most new commercial passenger aircraft include liquid crystal viewing screens in the backs of passenger seats for entertainment. Through linking the on-board camera system to these passenger viewing screens, all passengers can enjoy the views from these cameras.  
           [0006]    At present, there are several on-board camera systems known to the art that are used for passenger safety and entertainment. One such system is disclosed in a patent issued to Masterfield, U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,529, entitled “Airplane Route Viewing System,” issued Sep. 9, 1997. The patent issued to Masterfield teaches an entertainment system for presenting to the airplane passengers, over a television viewing monitor screen, a photographic display of a section of the route viewed by a television camera mounted in the nose of the airplane. First, this patent teaches the use of a single camera mounted in the nose of the aircraft. Second, this patent describes a process of presenting images from a television camera directly over a television screen in conjunction with prerecorded messages stored on tape. It is important to note that the system described by this patent does not teach the use of a central computer to control an array of digital cameras.  
           [0007]    Another aircraft camera systems is described in Lee, U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,336, entitled “Aircraft Surveillance and Recording System,” issued Apr. 21, 1998. This patent, issued to Lee, essentially teaches a modernized version of an aircraft “blackbox.” This patent discloses a system of video cameras that include an audio capability to record the flight of an aircraft. The images taken by these cameras are broadcast to a receiving station on the ground where they are recorded. Therefore, in the event of a crash, the crash investigators would have in flight video of what occurred. The views taken by these cameras are not shown in flight to either the passengers or the crew. Therefore, this system does not enhance the visibility of the pilots or provide entertainment to passengers. Also, this patent teaches that three of the camera views are of the interior of the aircraft, namely the pilots, the cockpit, and the passenger cabin. Therefore, in the event of a crash, the cameras would record the actions of terrified passengers or pilots asleep at the controls. The pictures taken by these cameras would not help either the crew or the passengers in a flight. However, the images taken by these cameras would help trial lawyers seeking jury verdicts after an airline crash. As with the Masterfield patent, this patent does not teach the use of a central computer to control passenger or crew interaction with a plurality of digital cameras.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention is an aircraft camera system for passenger entertainment and safety. The system includes several arrays of digital cameras mounted on a passenger aircraft. These arrays of digital cameras are connected to and controlled by a central computer system. The passengers can access the views gathered by these multiple cameras for entertainment on their personal liquid crystal display screens mounted in the rear back portion of each passenger seat. Further, these display screens are touch screens allowing passengers to scroll through menus and select the camera angle they wish to view. In addition, using the touch screen display, they can select between hearing audio about the flight or a musical selection. In an alternate embodiment, a passenger can control the screen display using a push button control unit electrically connected to the screen.  
           [0009]    The crew can access the views gathered by these multiple cameras to check on the integrity of the aircraft. At times during a flight, damage to the airframe may occur due to midair collisions, burst tires, or other mechanical problems. It then becomes necessary for the flight crew to determine the condition of the aircraft in order to safely land the aircraft. Having direct camera views of critical aircraft systems such as the wings, tail structure, and landing gear would enhance the ability of flight crews to determine the state of their aircraft. Also, in an emergency, the flight crew can restrict camera access to the passengers, to prevent panic.  
           [0010]    The camera system includes a top camera array, a bottom camera array, and two side camera arrays. The top camera array has two cameras mounted within an aerodynamic, durable, and transparent housing. The top camera array is mounted on the top of the aircraft fuselage near the front of the aircraft. The first of the two cameras in the top camera array is pointed rearward, to provide a view the tail section of the aircraft. This camera view will allow pilots to view the condition of the rear stabilizers. The second of the two cameras in the top camera array is pointed forward, to provide passengers with an entertaining view of the sky and terrain that the aircraft is flying toward.  
           [0011]    The bottom camera array has five separate digital cameras mounted within an aerodynamic, durable, and transparent housing. The bottom camera array is mounted on the bottom of the aircraft fuselage forward of the wings and rear of the nose landing gear. The front camera in the bottom array is pointed forward, to provide the passengers with an entertaining view of the sky and terrain ahead of the aircraft. Further, this camera would provide an exciting view of the airport and runway during take-off and landing. The second camera in the bottom array is pointed down, to provide passengers with a view of the land or sea beneath the aircraft during flight. The third camera in the bottom camera array is pointed toward the starboard wing, flaps, and engines. The fourth camera in the bottom array provides a view of the port wing, flaps, and engines. These two cameras thereby provide the pilot and crew with information about the state of the wing, flaps, and engines. The last camera in the bottom array is pointed aft, providing a view of the sky and terrain that the aircraft is flying away from. This aft view would provide exciting images as the aircraft takes off, to begin its flight.  
           [0012]    The two side camera arrays are each comprised of a single camera pointed over the wing to give the crew information about the condition of the wings and flaps. The two side cameras are mounted within the passenger cabin and are pointed out to view through existing passenger windows.  
           [0013]    The cameras used in the three camera arrays are preferably digital cameras. The cameras can be mounted such that they can be moved to change the camera&#39;s viewing orientation. In addition, it is desirable that the camera lens have the ability to zoom in or provide more of a wide-angle view. The zoom function and wide-angle function are currently available on many quality digital cameras and would be advantageous for viewing critical aircraft areas such as engines, wheels, or control surfaces.  
           [0014]    A central computer controls the plurality of camera arrays and interconnects them to the passenger and crew viewing screens. The viewing screens are preferably touch screens, so that the passengers and crew can select various viewing choices directly on the screen.  
           [0015]    The primary object of the invention is to enhance passenger safety by increasing the ability of the pilot and crew to determine the state of the aircraft. A further object of the invention is to provide passenger entertainment. A still further object of the invention is to provide a digital camera system that would require a minimum amount of modification to a current aircraft for use. A further object of the invention is to provide a digital camera system that integrates with a central computer to allow for ease of use by the crew and passengers.  
           [0016]    Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize this invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]    The novel features that are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself; however, both as to its structure and operation together with the additional objects and advantages thereof are best understood through the following description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the camera viewing system;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 2 shows an exterior view of a 737 aircraft and the placement of the various cameras comprising the camera viewing system;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 3 shows a top view of the bottom camera array;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 4 shows a top view of the top camera array;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the top camera array mounted to the top part of an aircraft fuselage;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the bottom camera array mounted to the bottom part of an aircraft fuselage;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of one of the side camera arrays mounted in the interior of the aircraft passenger cabin just above the leading edge of the wing;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of one of the side camera arrays mounted in a protective container;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 9 shows a passenger viewing screen displaying the output from one of the cameras located on the bottom camera array;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 10 shows a typical row of airline passenger seats having viewing screens mounted in the rear of the seat backs;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 11 shows a top view of a 737 aircraft along with the areas within the view of the top and side camera arrays;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 12 shows a bottom view of a 737 aircraft along with the areas within the view of the bottom camera array;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 13 shows the menu selection available to the crew of the aircraft for operating the camera viewing system; and  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 14 shows the menu selection available to passengers for operating the camera viewing system. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0032]    Referring to the Figures by characters of reference, FIG. 1 discloses a block diagram of the aircraft camera viewing system  100 . The aircraft camera viewing system  100  is comprised of a camera system  120  that has three separate camera arrays  121 ,  122 , and  123 . The separate camera arrays are the top camera array  121 , bottom camera array  122 , and side camera array  123 . These three camera arrays  121 ,  122 , and  123  are connected to a central computer  110  via three separate busses  124 . Bus  124  may be made of copper wire or fiber-optic cable. Fiber-optic cable is immune to radio frequency interference (RFI), which may have advantages to maintaining the clarity of images. The central computer  110  is connected to a pilot display  130  in the cockpit. The central computer  110  is also connected to a passenger viewing screen array  140 . The passenger viewing screen array  140  is comprised of a series of liquid crystal viewing screens or displays  141  connected to a central bus  142 . Similar to bus  124 , bus  142  may also be made of copper wire or fiber-optic cable. The aircraft crew in the cockpit can interconnect via bi-directional communications line  131  with the central computer  110  and lockout the passengers from viewing the camera array  120 . In the event of aircraft damage, views of the damaged aircraft on the passenger viewing display  141  could cause passenger panic. However, the crew can prevent this panic by disabling the ability of the passengers to view the camera array  120 .  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a Boeing 737 passenger aircraft  200  having a generally tubular-shaped fuselage  201 . As shown in FIG. 2, the top camera array  121  is mounted on the top of the aircraft fuselage  201 . The bottom camera array  122  is mounted on the bottom of the aircraft fuselage  201 . Both of the top and bottom camera arrays  121  and  122  are mounted on the exterior of the aircraft  200 . The side camera array  123  is actually comprised of two separate cameras  123 A and  123 B mounted on each side of the aircraft  200 , such as shown in FIG. 7. The starboard camera array  123 B is preferably mounted within the passenger cabin on the starboard side of the aircraft  200 . The port camera array  123 A is preferably mounted within the passenger cabin on the port side of the aircraft  200 . However, said cameras  123 A and  123 B could alternately be attached to the fuselage  201 . The side camera arrays  123 A and  123 B are aimed along the leading edge of the wing to provide a good view of the wings  205  and  208  and engines  206  and  210 . While the camera system  120  is shown mounted on a Boeing 737, this system can integrate with other Boeing aircraft, Airbus aircraft, or aircraft of other manufacturers, in a similar manner. Boeing aircraft models 707, 747, 757, 767, and 777 and all Airbus aircraft have designs similar to the 737 in that all of the engines are mounted under the wings. Therefore, the position of the various camera arrays  121 ,  122 ,  123 A and  123 B in FIG. 2 would also view the wings, engines, and other critical components in these other aircraft.  
         [0034]    The bottom camera array  122  is shown in FIG. 3. The bottom camera array  122  is enclosed within an aerodynamic, durable, and transparent housing  310 . Preferably, the transparent housing  310  is made of polymethyl methacrylate, which is commonly known as Plexiglas or Lucite. However, other transparent housing materials could be used for housing  310 , such as hardened glass, acrylic, cellulose acetate butyrate, or polystyrene.  
         [0035]    The bottom camera array  122  is comprised of five separate cameras  301 - 305 . The front bottom camera  301  in the bottom array  122  is pointed forward to provide the passengers with an entertaining view of the sky and terrain ahead of the aircraft  200 . Further, this camera would provide an exciting view of the airport and runway during take-off and landing. The second camera  302  in the bottom array  122  is pointed down to provide passengers with a view of the land or sea beneath the aircraft  200  during flight. The third camera  303  in the bottom camera array  122  is pointed toward the starboard wing  205 , flaps  207 , and engine  206 . The fourth camera  304  in the bottom array  122  provides a view of the port wing  208 , flaps  209 , and engine  210 . These two cameras  303  and  304  thereby provide the pilot and crew with information about the state of the wings  205  and  208 , flaps  207  and  209 , and engines  206  and  210 . The last camera  305  in the bottom array  122  is pointed aft providing a view of the sky and terrain that the aircraft  200  is flying away from. This aft view would provide exciting images as the aircraft  200  takes off, to begin its flight. It is important to note that during the construction of the bottom camera array  122 , the various cameras  301 - 305  can be positioned at different angles in order to integrate with aircraft models other than the Boeing 737.  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 4 shows the top camera array  121 . The top camera array  121  has two cameras  401  and  402  mounted within an aerodynamic, durable, and transparent housing  410 . As with housing  310 , the preferred material for housing  410  is polymethyl methacrylate, with alternate materials including hardened glass, acrylic, cellulose acetate butyrate, or polystyrene. The top camera array  121  is mounted on the top of the aircraft fuselage  201  near the front of the aircraft  200 . The first of the two cameras  402  in the top camera array  121  is pointed to view the tail section  215  of the aircraft  200 . This camera  402  view will allow pilots to view the condition of the rear stabilizers  216 . The second of the two cameras  401  in the top camera array  122  is pointed forward to provide passengers with an entertaining view of the sky and terrain that the aircraft  200  is flying toward.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIGS. 5 and 6 provide a perspective view of the top camera array  121  and bottom camera array  122  mounted to the exterior of the aircraft fuselage  201 . As shown, the top and bottom camera arrays  121  and  122  are enclosed by aerodynamic, durable, and transparent housings  410  and  310  respectively.  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the port camera array  123 A mounted within the passenger cabin  201 A of the fuselage  201  above the port wing  208 . The port camera array  123 A is comprised of a single digital camera  701  mounted within a durable plastic housing  702 . The digital camera  701  is angled to provide a view of the entire wing  208  and engine  210 . The starboard camera array  123 B is identical to the port camera array  123 A.  
         [0039]    A perspective view of the digital camera  701  and housing  702  is shown in FIG. 8. The digital camera and housing comprising the starboard camera array  123 B are identical to the digital camera  701  and housing  702 .  
         [0040]    The cameras  301 - 305 ,  401  and  402 , and  701  are preferably digital cameras. The digital cameras are provided with a durable housing  320  having a cylindrical cover  321  holding the lens  322 . The digital camera has the ability to manipulate lens  322  in order to zoom in on specific objects, or provide a wide-angle view. The zoom function and wide-angle view function are currently available on many standard digital cameras available in the marketplace. For instance, the SONY ® digital camcorder has a 10× optical and 120× digital zoom feature. This would allow the crew of aircraft  200  to zoom in on key areas of the aircraft  200 , or to pursue a wide-angle view. The SONY ® digital camcorder has an IEEE-1394 Firewire interface. Firewire is a high speed interface cable. In a preferred embodiment, cables  124  connecting the camera array  120  to the computer  110  are Firewire cables.  
         [0041]    In addition, the SONY ® digital camcorder also has picture stabilization, called STEADYSHOT ®, which would reduce the effect of aircraft vibration on the viewed images. The SONY ® camcorder supports super laserlink wireless transmission. Therefore, in an alternative embodiment, links  124  would be wireless laserlinks, to reduce the need of stringing cables to hard to reach locations. Since digital cameras and camcorders do not use film, they are capable of operating in extremely low-light conditions. Thus, digital photography permits operation in a much wider range of ambient light conditions, which makes digital photography the preferred means of photography for this application. In an alternative embodiment, cameras  301 - 305 ,  401  and  402 , and  701  have an infra-red capability to enable the pilots to view the aircraft during night time conditions.  
         [0042]    Cameras  301 - 305 ,  401  and  402 , and  701  are mounted on bases  323  that permit the position of the cameras to be altered. This feature allows the camera array  120  to integrate with other models of aircraft.  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 9 shows a passenger viewing screen  900  displaying the output from camera  303  located on the bottom camera array  122 . The passenger viewing screen  900  is preferably a conventional liquid crystal flat screen display currently in use on many passenger aircraft. An LCD display uses organic fluids called liquid crystals, because liquid crystals possess two important properties. First, liquid crystals are transparent but can alter the orientation of polarized light passing through them. Second, the alignment of liquid crystal molecules and their polarization properties can be changed by applying an electric field. Liquid crystals are sandwiched between two glass plates, the outsides of which having been coated with polarizing filters and the inner plate is typically back lit via fluorescent light. Inside these glass plates is a matrix of electrodes. When an element of the matrix, called a pixel, experiences a voltage change, the polarization of the adjacent liquid crystal molecules change, which alters the light transmitted through the LCD pixel and hence seen by the user. Display  900  could alternatively be a gas-discharge display, which is commonly known as a plasma display. A gas-discharge display contains neon between a horizontal and vertical set of electrodes. When a vertical and a horizontal electrode are charged, the neon glows at their intersection, emitting light. Display  900  may equally be a cathode ray tube (CRT) commonly used with desktop computers, a liquid crystal display, light emitting diode display, or a flat panel electroluminescent display. Display  900  could equally use light emitting diodes (LEDs) which are a semiconductor device that converts electrical energy into light. LEDs work on the principle of electroluminescence and are produce little heat for an amount of light output. Display  900  could be a flat panel electroluminescent display, where a thin phosphor layer is set between vertical and horizontal electrodes. These electrodes form an X-Y Cartesian coordinate system. When a vertical and a horizontal electrode are charged, the phosphor at their intersection emits light.  
         [0044]    In FIG. 9, two items are displayed on the display  900 . The first item is the actual image  901  as seen by camera  303 . The second item is a menu selection  1400 . The menu section button  1400  allows a passenger to activate the menu choices available to the passenger in the camera system  100 . Preferably, the display  900  is a touch screen display such that the passenger can just press the screen at the position marked main menu  1400 . The menu  1400  available to the passengers is detailed in FIG. 14. In an alternative embodiment, the passenger can select the choices displayed on display  900  using a push button control device mounted on an armrest of each passenger&#39;s seat.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 10 shows a typical row of airline passenger seats  1000  having viewing screens  900  mounted in the rear of the seat backs  1010 . In many commercial aircraft produced today, it is common to have a liquid crystal display mounted in the rear seat back  1010  of a passenger seat  1000 . Alternatively, screen  900  may be mounted on the arm rest of the passenger seat  1000 . Also visible in FIG. 10 is the meal tray  1040 .  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 11 shows a top view of a 737 aircraft  200  along with the areas within the view of the top and side camera arrays  121  and  123 . The top camera array  121  contains two cameras,  401  and  402 . Camera  401  is pointed forward and has the viewing area marked by the dashed triangle  701 . Note that depending upon the optics used for the lens to camera  401 , the viewing area  701  can vary. Camera  402  is pointed to the rear of the aircraft  200  and has the viewing area  702 . The side camera array  123  comprised of the port and starboard cameras  123 A and  123 B cover the viewing areas  703  and  704  respectively. As shown by FIG. 11, the side camera array  123  covers the majority of the wings  205  and  208  and engines  206  and  210 . The rear camera  402  covers the rear tail section  215  and stabilizers  216 . These camera angles  701 ,  702 ,  703 , and  704  provided to the crew of the aircraft  200  will greatly enhance the amount of knowledge available to the crew about the state of their aircraft  200  thereby enhancing passenger safety both in the air and on the ground, on airport taxiways.  
         [0047]    [0047]FIG. 12 shows a bottom view of a 737 aircraft  200  along with the areas within the view of the bottom camera array  122 . The forward camera  301  in the bottom camera array  122  covers the viewing area within the dashed triangle  710 . The third camera  303  in the bottom camera array  122  covers the area within the dashed triangle  713 . This viewing area includes the majority of the wing  205  and engine  206 . The fourth camera  304  covers the viewing area within section  711 , which includes wing  208  and engine  210 . The final camera  305  in the bottom camera array  122  covers the tail section  712 . Note that the second camera  302  in the bottom array  122  points straight down at the earth.  
         [0048]    [0048]FIG. 13 shows the menu  1300  available to the crew of the aircraft  200  for operating the camera viewing system  100 . In a preferred embodiment, the crew access the menu  1300  through a touch screen LCD display. The menu  1300  that controls the camera system  100  has three primary choices. The first choice  1310  is a camera viewing choice. Under this menu section  1310 , the crew can select the manner in which they wish to view the images collected by the camera system  100 . In choice  1340 , the crew can have the computer system  110  cycle through showing each camera at a preset time interval. For instance, the crew would see the image from camera  301  for 20 seconds, then the image from camera  302  for 20 seconds, then the image from camera  303  for 20 seconds, and so on. The duration of this preset time interval could be adjusted by the aircraft crew. Alternatively, in choice  1350 , the crew can select to view one of the cameras for an indefinite period. Choice  1350  anticipates that one of the cameras of the camera system  120  will view some sort of damage to the aircraft  200  and that the crew will want to continuously monitor that damage with the appropriate camera. In choice  1360 , the crew can select multiple cameras to view simultaneously. Several of the cameras in the various camera arrays have overlapping fields of vision. It is possible that certain damage to the aircraft will be visible to several cameras. Under choice  1360 , the crew can instruct computer  110  to show the views seen by some or all of the cameras that have views of the damage continuously.  
         [0049]    In FIG. 13, choice  1320  is the passenger lock-out feature. In the event of damage to the aircraft  200 , the passengers could see the damage to the aircraft  200  through the camera system  100  thereby causing panic. To prevent the passengers from panicking at the sight of the damaged aircraft  200 , the crew could “lock-out” and prevent the passengers from viewing the camera system  100  on their LCD displays  900  by accessing choice  1320 .  
         [0050]    Referring again to FIG. 13, the crew can instruct the computer  110  to record a specific camera view and transmit it using choice  1330 . In the event that there is damage to the aircraft  200 , the crew may wish to record the camera angle covering the damage for maintenance purposes using choice  1370 . This recording would then be included with the flight information in the aircraft&#39;s “black box.” However, in the event of damage, it is possible that the crew could benefit from advice from engineers and pilots on the ground. Therefore, under choice  1380 , the crew can transmit images showing the state of their aircraft to experts on the ground.  
         [0051]    The menu system  1400  available to passengers for operating the camera system  100  is shown in FIG. 14. This menu system  1400  is accessible to passengers through their touch screen displays  900 . There are two primary choices available to passengers,  1410  and  1420 . Choice  1410  allows passengers to select which camera angle they want to see on their display  900 . In this menu selection, the passengers first chose which camera array they want to see, choice  1460  gives the top array  121 , choice  1470  gives bottom array  122 , or choice  1450  gives side array  123 . After making that choice, the passengers then select the specific camera they wish to see. The reference numbers of the cameras,  123 A,  123 B,  401 ,  402 ,  301 ,  302 ,  303 ,  304 , and  305  are the available choices. Choice  1451  gives the view from camera  123 A, choice  1452  gives the view from camera  123 B, choice  1461  gives the view from camera  401 , choice  1462  gives the view from camera  402 , choice  1471  gives the view from camera  301 , choice  1472  gives the view from camera  302 , choice  1473  gives the view from camera  303 , choice  1474  gives the view from camera  304 , and choice  1475  gives the view from camera  305 . The passengers can then access choice  1420  that allows passengers to choice between hearing a prerecorded musical section with choice  1430  or hearing an education recording that follows the flight path with choice  1440 . The music and educational recording may be prerecorded on storage media such as magnetic tape, including popular 8 mm or 4 mm cassettes, on CD-ROM optical disks, or on DVD-ROM optical disks.  
         [0052]    While the invention has been shown and described with reference to a particular embodiment thereof, it will be understood to those skilled in the art, that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.