Patent ID: 8566012

Claim:
A method for achieving and maintaining spacing between aircraft, comprising: receiving, by a processor of a following aircraft, information related to a lead aircraft for achieving and maintaining spacing by the following aircraft from the lead aircraft; determining, by the processor, spacing of the following aircraft from the lead aircraft; receiving, by the processor of the following aircraft, a planned vertical profile for descent and landing in a particular air traffic management environment where the aircraft is located; presenting, by the processor, the spacing of the following aircraft from the lead aircraft on a display in a cockpit of the following aircraft, wherein presenting the spacing comprises presenting a bar graph representing the spacing of the following aircraft from the lead aircraft on the display; and automatically controlling, by the processor, throttle settings to achieve and maintain spacing by the following aircraft from the lead aircraft while maintaining the planned vertical profile of the following aircraft for descent and landing in the particular air traffic management environment in response to an automatic spacing mode being enabled.