Method and apparatus for providing an indication as to whether an aircraft can safely glide to a selected destination
US5142480A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 27, 1990 |
| Grant date | Aug 25, 1992 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 27, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01C23/005
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method and apparatus for providing an indication as to whether an aircraft can safely glide to a selected location. An electronic processor is provided with a manual data input, a Loran navigation system input, or electronic altimeter input, a memory, a display, and a processor program. Data representing the identity, location, and other features of a set of possible airport landing sites are stored in the memory. Data representing the aircraft flight performance parameters is entered manually. Based on the airport data, aircraft performance data, Loran data, and altimeter data, the program causes the processor to determine and display a predetermined number of nearest airports, the altitude required to glide to those airports from the aircraft's current location, or the difference between the distance to the airports and the distance the aircraft can glide from its current altitude, and whether the aircraft can safely glide to a selected airport.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.