Patent ID: 6972696

Claim:
A symbology system for programming information relative to an aircraft's future position and flight path to create a symbology representing the future position and flight path of the aircraft in the visual field of a pilot, the system comprising: a programmable means for gathering flight travel information in real time about an aircraft from a number of instruments on the aircraft and using the flight travel information to create a symbology representing the aircraft flight path and future position information in the visual field of a pilot of the aircraft; the symbology, superimposed on the actual terrain in the actual visual field of the pilot, comprising a series of virtual figures at spaced intervals in front of the aircraft delineating the projected flight path of the aircraft and the future predicted position of the aircraft based on the present real time path of travel of the aircraft including any future predicted point of contact of the aircraft with any external object including the ground, the symbology providing visual real time information to the pilot regarding points of future positions at given time intervals of the aircraft relative to the actual surrounding environment and visual real time information about a predicted future contact of the aircraft with any objects in the environment including the ground; and a virtual representation of the predicted flight path of the aircraft corresponding to a span of a helicopter rotor or a wing span of a plane projected onto the terrain below the projected flight path, the virtual representation of the predicted flight path of the aircraft superimposed on the terrain that the pilot views as a ground path predictor that shows a precise path across the terrain that the aircraft will traverse below the predicted flight path of the aircraft during an upcoming maneuver.