Leg type entry on flight management system
The present disclosure relates to an FMS configured to accept a plurality of flight legs (beyond the standard five) for consideration when developing a flight plan. Allowing an FMS to receive a plurality of flight legs, beyond just five, is achieved by calculating a lateral trajectory and a vertical trajectory based on the current state of the flight path. This may be done mid-flight or initially when a given flight plan is entered by the pilot. The sequence of leg types that are entered may be used to generate a predicted final trajectory and output a GUI (graphical user interface) of the predicted final trajectory.
1 . A method, comprising:
receiving, at a control display unit (CDU) of a flight management system (FMS), a sequence of a plurality of legs for a flight plan for a flight,
wherein the sequence of the plurality of legs includes a first leg and a second leg in the sequence;
determining whether a type of each of the plurality of legs is compatible with a type of a respective previous leg in the sequence,
wherein determining whether a type of each of the plurality of legs is compatible with a type of a respective previous leg in the sequence comprises:
prompting, at the CDU, a request for additional second leg information to define the second leg,
receiving, at the CDU, the additional second leg information, and
determining whether the second leg is compatible with the first leg in the sequence based on using the additional second leg information to retrieve compatibility information from a matrix stored in the FMS;
responsive to determining the plurality of legs in the sequence is compatible:
determining a lateral trajectory based on the sequence;
determining a vertical trajectory based on the sequence;
generating a final trajectory of the flight plan based on the lateral trajectory and the vertical trajectory;
outputting, at the CDU, a graphical user interface (GUI) comprising a visual representation of the final trajectory;
receiving real-time information regarding the flight; and
adjusting the final trajectory of the flight plan based on the real-time information.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the sequence of the plurality of legs comprises:
receiving information defining the first leg at the CDU;
after receiving the first leg, receiving information defining the second leg, at the CDU; and
wherein determining whether each of the plurality of legs is compatible with the respective previous leg in the sequence comprises:
determining whether a type of the second leg is compatible with a type of the first leg, and
identifying information from the first leg that can be used to define the second leg.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein receiving the sequence of the plurality of legs further comprises:
after receiving information defining the first leg and the second leg, receiving information defining a third leg for the flight plan, at the CDU; wherein determining whether each of the plurality of legs is compatible with the respective previous leg of the sequence comprises:
determining whether a type of the third leg is compatible with a type of the second leg;
identifying information from the second leg that can be used to define the third leg;
upon determining more information is needed to define the third leg, outputting, at the CDU, a request for the needed information; and
receiving, at the CDU, the needed information.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein
the matrix stores a transition type value at an intersection between the type of the second leg and the type of the first leg,
wherein the transition type value indicates whether the second leg is permitted after the first leg.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein information used from the first leg to define the second leg comprises:
an end fix of the first leg defining a beginning fix of the second leg, and course headings.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the final trajectory is a three-dimensional trajectory in space generated using an origin point, a destination point, the lateral trajectory and the vertical trajectory.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the final trajectory is a four-dimensional trajectory in time and space generated using an origin point, a destination point, the lateral trajectory, the vertical trajectory, and time data.
8 . A system comprising:
a control display unit (CDU) of a flight management system (FMS), configured to:
receive a sequence of a plurality of legs for a flight plan for a flight,
wherein the sequence of the plurality of legs includes a first leg and a second leg;
prompt a request for additional second leg information to define the second leg; and
receive the additional second leg information; and
a flight management computer (FMC) configured to:
obtain compatibility information from a matrix stored in the FMS based on the additional second leg information;
determine whether a type of each of the plurality of legs is compatible with a type of a respective previous leg in the sequence based on the compatibility information; and
responsive to determining the plurality of legs in the sequence is compatible:
determine a lateral trajectory based on the sequence;
determine a vertical trajectory based on the sequence; and
generate a final trajectory of the flight plan based on the lateral trajectory and the vertical trajectory,
wherein the CDU is further configured to output a graphical user interface (GUI) comprising a visual representation of the final trajectory.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein receiving a sequence of a plurality of legs comprises:
receiving information defining the first leg for the flight plan, at the CDU;
after receiving the first leg, receiving information defining the second leg for the flight plan, at the CDU; and
wherein determining whether each of the plurality of legs is compatible with the respective previous leg in the sequence comprises:
determining whether a type of the second leg is compatible with a type of the first leg, and
identifying information from the first leg that can be used to define the second leg.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein receiving a sequence of a plurality of legs further comprises:
after receiving information defining the first leg and the second leg, receiving information defining a third leg for the flight plan, at the CDU;
wherein determining whether each of the plurality of legs is compatible with the respective previous leg the sequence comprises:
determining whether a type of the third leg is compatible with a type of the second leg;
identifying information from the second leg that can be used to define the third leg;
upon determining more information is needed to define the third leg, outputting, at the CDU, a request for the needed information; and
receiving, at the CDU, the needed information.
11 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the matrix storing matrix stores a transition type value at an intersection between the type of the second leg and the type of the first leg, wherein the transition type value indicates whether the second leg is permitted after the first leg.
12 . The system of claim 9 , wherein information used from the first leg to define the second leg comprises:
an end fix of the first leg defining a beginning fix of the second leg, and course headings.
13 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the final trajectory is a three-dimensional trajectory in space generated using an origin point, a destination point, the lateral trajectory and the vertical trajectory.
14 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the final trajectory is a four-dimensional trajectory in time and space generated using an origin point, a destination point, the lateral trajectory, the vertical trajectory, and time data.
15 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code embodied therewith, the computer-readable program code executable by one or more computer processors to:
receive, at a control display unit (CDU) of a flight management system (FMS), a sequence of a plurality of legs for a flight plan for a flight,
wherein the sequence of the plurality of legs includes a first leg and a second leg in the sequence;
determine whether a type of each of the plurality of legs is compatible with a type of a respective previous leg in the sequence,
wherein the one or more computer processors, to determine whether a type of each of the plurality of legs is compatible with a type of a respective previous leg in the sequence, are to:
prompt, at the CDU, a request for additional second leg information to define the second leg,
receive, at the CDU, the additional second leg information, and
determine whether the second leg is compatible with the first leg in the sequence based on using the additional second leg information to retrieve compatibility information from a matrix stored in the FMS;
responsive to determining the plurality of legs in the sequence is compatible:
determine a lateral trajectory based on the sequence;
determine a vertical trajectory based on the sequence;
generate a final trajectory of the flight plan based on the lateral trajectory and the vertical trajectory; and
transmit for display, at the CDU, a graphical user interface (GUI) comprising a visual representation of the final trajectory.
16 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the one or more computer processors, to receive a sequence of a plurality of legs, are to:
receive information defining a first leg for the flight plan, at the CDU;
after receiving the first leg, receive information defining a second leg for the flight plan, at the CDU; and
wherein the one or more processors, to determine whether each of the plurality of legs is compatible with the respective previous leg in the sequence, are to:
determine whether a type of the second leg is compatible with a type of the first leg, and
identify information from the first leg that can be used to define the second leg.
17 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the one or more processors, to receive a sequence of a plurality of legs, are to:
after receiving information defining the first leg and the second leg, receive information defining a third leg for the flight plan, at the CDU;
wherein the one or more processors, to determine whether each of the plurality of legs is compatible with the respective previous leg the sequence, are to:
determine whether a type of the third leg is compatible with a type of the second leg;
identify information from the second leg that can be used to define the third leg;
upon determining more information is needed to define the third leg, output, at the CDU, a request for the needed information; and
receive, at the CDU, the needed information.
18 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the matrix stores a transition type value at an intersection between the type of the second leg and the type of the first leg, wherein the transition type value indicates whether the second leg is permitted after the first leg.
19 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein information used from the first leg to define the second leg comprises:
an end fix of the first leg defining a beginning fix of the second leg, and course headings.
20 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the final trajectory is a three-dimensional trajectory in space generated using an origin point, a destination point, the lateral trajectory and the vertical trajectory.