Aircraft hover system and method
View Patent ↗An aircraft hover system for enabling an aircraft to hover at a target spatial location represented by GPS location coordinates. The hover system includes a display screen rendering a display including live video feed of the terrain below the airborne aircraft, a first mark overlaying the video feed, the first mark representing the current position of the aircraft relative to the terrain, and a perimeter surrounding the first mark, the portion of the terrain within the perimeter being substantially magnified compared to that of the terrain outside of the perimeter. The hover system is configured such that, as the aircraft approaches the target spatial location, the distance between the first mark and a second mark on the display gradually decreases until and finally the first and second marks coincide; the second mark representing the target spatial location.
1. An aircraft hover system for enabling an aircraft to hover at a target spatial location represented by location coordinates, the hover system including a display, comprising:
(a) a live video feed of terrain below an airborne aircraft;
(b) a first mark overlaying the video feed, the first mark representing a current position of the aircraft relative to the terrain; and
(c) a perimeter surrounding the first mark, a portion of the terrain within the perimeter being magnified compared to that of the terrain outside of the perimeter;
wherein the system is configured such that, as the aircraft reaches a target spatial location, the distance between the first mark and a second mark on the display decreases, the second mark representing the target spatial location.
2. The hover system of claim 1 , wherein the display further comprises an altitude indicator section displaying a current pointer representing the current altitude of the aircraft, and a target pointer representing a target altitude of the aircraft; and such that the distance between the current and target pointers is configured to decrease as the aircraft arrives at the target altitude from the current altitude.
3. The hover system of claim 1 , further comprising means for delivering an aural alert as the aircraft nears the target spatial location.
4. The hover system of claim 3 , wherein the aural alert further includes a success alert, the success alert being delivered when the first and second marks are coincident to within a predetermined tolerance.
5. The hover system of claim 3 , wherein the aural alert further includes a stray alert, which is delivered when the aircraft, upon arriving at the target spatial location, strays therefrom, by an amount greater than a threshold.
6. The hover system of claim 1 , wherein at any point, the visibility of the second mark on the display depends on the distance between the first and the second marks, the degree of the terrain magnification set, and the specifications of the display.
7. The hover system of claim 1 , wherein the display includes a display screen.
8. The hover system of claim 1 , wherein the first mark is fixedly centrally disposed.
9. The hover system of claim 1 , wherein the magnification of the terrain area outside of the perimeter is adjustable.
10. The hover system of claim 1 , further comprising an input for a Global Positioning System signal for receiving data for the live feed.
11. The hover system of claim 1 , further comprising a user interface wherein a target spatial location including a set of GPS location coordinates are entered.
12. The hover system of claim 1 , wherein the magnification of the terrain within the perimeter is configured to increase as the aircraft approaches the target spatial location.
13. The hover system of claim 1 , further comprising a marker means, such that activation of the marker means at any spatial location causes the same to be entered as a target spatial location.
14. The hover system of claim 13 , wherein the marker means includes a button.
15. The hover system of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second marks include a crosshair.
16. The hover system of claim 1 , wherein the perimeter is rectangular.
17. The hover system of claim 1 , wherein the aircraft includes a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft.
18. The hover system of claim 17 , wherein the VTOL aircraft includes a helicopter.
19. An aircraft hover system for enabling an aircraft to hover at a target spatial location represented by location coordinates, the hover system used in conjunction with a Terrain Awareness and Warning System, the hover system including a display screen rendering a display, comprising:
(a) a live video feed of the terrain below the airborne aircraft, the extent of the coverage of the live feed determined by a specification of a display and a degree of magnification of the terrain;
(b) a centrally disposed first mark overlaying the video feed, the first mark representing the current position of the aircraft relative to the terrain, as determined by the GPS; and
(c) a perimeter surrounding the first mark, the terrain within the perimeter, at any point, being magnified compared to the terrain outside of the perimeter;
wherein the system is configured such that, as the aircraft approaches a target spatial location, the distance between the first mark and a second mark representing the target spatial location.
20. A method of enabling an aircraft to hover at a target spatial location represented by location coordinates, comprising:
a. receiving a live video feed of terrain below an airborne aircraft;
b. displaying a first mark overlaying the video feed, the first mark representing a current position of the aircraft relative to the terrain; and
c. displaying a perimeter surrounding the first mark, a portion of the terrain within the perimeter being substantially magnified compared to that of the terrain outside of the perimeter;
d. as a distance between the aircraft and a target spatial location decreases, altering the live video feed such that a distance between the first mark and a second mark on the display is caused to decrease, the second mark representing the target spatial location.