Patent ID: 8224506

Claim:
Method of determining and utilizing a maximum stabilization height h stab of an airplane moving from a current position, at a height h av relative to a reference point and with a speed V av in a final flight phase of said airplane, said final flight phase comprising a nominal approach path roughly in a vertical plane passing through an axis X of a runway and determined by: nominal height values according to the position along the axis X called height law h nom (X) relative to the reference point; nominal approach speed values according to the position along the axis X called speed law V nom (X); wherein the method comprises configuring a computer to: determine a nominal total height H Tnom at any point of the nominal path by the relation H Tnom ⁡ ( X ) = h nom ⁡ ( X ) + ( V nom 2 ⁡ ( X ) ) 2 ⁢ g in which g represents the earth's gravity field; determine a total height of the airplane H Tav by the relation H Tav = h av + V av 2 2 ⁢ g determine a nominal maximum total height that the airplane is able to reach from its current position corresponding to a nominal total height and according to an optimum total height variation law ⅆ H Tav ⅆ X ; and determine the maximum stabilization height h stab corresponding to the nominal maximum total height that the airplane is able to reach; the method further comprising determining whether to continue or to interrupt a landing procedure during the final flight phase of the airplane based on the determined maximum stabilization height.