Patent ID: 8305238

Claim:
A man-machine interface for assisting a pilot during take-off or landing of an airborne vehicle in reduced external visibility, said interface comprising: a display which represents a virtual scenario from the perspective of a virtual observer who is located behind the airborne vehicle and is in the same flight attitude as the airborne vehicle itself; wherein, the virtual scenario includes a base plane which symbolizes an idealized ground surface, determined from an instantaneous value of the altitude above ground and instantaneous flight attitude data of the airborne vehicle; the base plane is bounded by an artificial horizon and is continuously updated with instantaneous flying state data and instantaneous height of the airborne vehicle above ground; the virtual scenario further includes a symbol which represents the airborne vehicle; a position of the symbol relative to the base plane represents a current flight attitude and the instantaneous height of the airborne vehicle above ground; and an instantaneous drift rate and direction of the airborne vehicle above ground are represented in the virtual scenario by perspective projection of a drift vector onto one of the base plane and a plane parallel to the base plane.