Patent ID: 7564374

Claim:
A method of assisting in piloting of an aircraft, wherein there is presented, on at least one display window of at least one display screen of said aircraft, an information presentation which illustrates a vertical plane along a flight path which is representative of a predetermined flight plan of said aircraft and which comprises: a system of axes, of which a y-axis is graduated altitude-wise, and an x-axis is graduated distance-wise from a position of the aircraft; a characteristic symbol representing the aircraft, which is positioned on said y-axis in a position representative of an altitude of said aircraft; a first trace representing a vertical path of said flight path; and a second trace representing a profile of the ground being flown over and revealing a vertical section, wherein, during a flight of the aircraft, the following series of successive steps is carried out automatically and repeatedly: a) determining a current flight phase of the aircraft; b) determining a first altitude ALTac corresponding to a current altitude of the aircraft; c) calculating a second altitude ALTmoy corresponding to an average value of the altitude of a portion of said flight path, said portion starting at a current position of the aircraft and corresponding to a maximum portion that can be displayed in said display window as a function of the size of said display window and of its scale; d) determining, based on said current flight phase and said first altitude ALTac and said second altitudes ALTmoy: a reference height Zac corresponding to a height of said characteristic symbol in said display window; and a reference altitude ALTref corresponding to an altitude of a lowest point of the vertical section displayed; and e) positioning: said display window, altitude-wise such that the lowest point of the vertical section displayed in said display window is located at said reference altitude ALTref on said y-axis graduated altitude-wise; and said characteristic symbol, vertically in said display window at a height corresponding to said reference height Zac, wherein the aircraft is guided along the flight path which conforms to the predetermined flight plan.