Patent ID: 8706388

Claim:
A method for graphically identifying operational restrictions for an airport area, the method comprising, sequentially: designating, in a processor comprising hardware and software, a display control aircraft from among all aircraft on the airport area, wherein designating comprises: the processor designating an aircraft, the aircraft containing a display associated with the processor, as the display control aircraft, and receiving inputs that designate the display control aircraft from among all aircraft on the airport area, and further wherein the airport area comprises all ground surfaces within an airport's geographic boundary that the display control aircraft can occupy or move over; identifying, using the processor, an aircraft type of the display control aircraft; forming, using the processor, an identified aircraft type, wherein the identified aircraft type is the display control aircraft identified by its aircraft type; identifying, using the processor, a restriction for the airport area affecting the identified aircraft type, wherein the restriction comprises: a Notice to Airmen, a restriction to aircraft movement on the airport area, a restriction to aircraft operations on the airport area; a preferential taxi route on the airport area; and a preferential operating procedure on the airport area; forming, using the processor, an associated restriction, wherein the associated restriction comprises any restriction that affects the identified aircraft type, and excludes any restriction that cannot affect the identified aircraft type; transforming, using the processor, the associated restriction into a graphical indicator, wherein the graphical indicator comprises the associated restriction and a location on the airport area that the associated restriction affects; communicating the graphical indicator to the display; and presenting, on the display, the graphical indicator on a graphical representation of the airport area in locations on the graphical representation of the airport area where the associated restriction applies.