Aircraft engine warning system and method
In an embodiment, an apparatus includes: a display; and an engine control panel disposed below the display, the engine control panel including: engine control knobs; and alert indicators above the engine control knobs, the alert indicators including light bulbs that, when turned on, emit light in a single color that does not change, the display capable of rendering more colors than the alert indicators.
1 . An aircraft comprising:
a plurality of engines;
a display in a cockpit of the aircraft, the display being polychromatic, the display being in a primary field of view of a pilot of the aircraft;
an engine control panel in the cockpit, the engine control panel disposed on a different surface of the cockpit than the display, wherein the engine control panel is in a secondary field of view of the pilot of the aircraft based on the engine control panel being disposed on the different surface of the cockpit than the display, the secondary field of view being outside of the primary field of view such that the engine control panel and the display are visually and spatially disconnected, the engine control panel comprising engine control knobs and alert indicators, the alert indicators disposed above the engine control knobs, the alert indicators being monochromatic, the alert indicators being different from the display; and
a controller configured to:
detect a problem with a first engine of the engines;
generate an alert for the problem based on the problem detected with the first engine; and
provide the alert to the pilot with the display and with a first alert indicator of the alert indicators, the first alert indicator being associated with the first engine, wherein the alert is provided to the pilot simultaneously with both the display and the first alert indicator.
2 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to provide the alert by:
rendering the alert with the display using different colors based on a severity of the alert; and
illuminating the first alert indicator in a same color regardless of the severity of the alert.
3 . The aircraft of claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to provide the alert by further:
playing an audio alert with an audio system.
4 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the first alert indicator is disposed nearer to a first engine control knob than to others of the engine control knobs, the first engine control knob being associated with the first engine.
5 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the engine control panel further comprises engine labels disposed above the engine control knobs.
6 . The aircraft of claim 5 , wherein the alert indicators are disposed above the engine labels.
7 . The aircraft of claim 5 , wherein the alert indicators are disposed below the engine labels.
8 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein, based on the alert indicators being disposed above the engine control knobs, the alert indicators remain visible to the pilot when the pilot reaches for one of the engine control knobs.
9 . An apparatus comprising:
a display located in a primary field of view of an aircraft pilot, the display configured to render color-coded text based on an engine alert; and
an engine control panel disposed below the display, the engine control panel located in a secondary field of view of the aircraft pilot based on the engine control panel being disposed below the display, the secondary field of view being outside of the primary field of view such that the engine control panel and the display are visually and spatially disconnected, the engine control panel comprising:
engine control knobs; and
alert indicators above the engine control knobs, the alert indicators configured to be turned on based on the engine alert and simultaneously with the display rendering the color-coded text, the alert indicators comprising light bulbs that, when turned on, emit light in a single color that does not change, the alert indicators being different from the display, the display capable of rendering more colors than the alert indicators.
10 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the engine control knobs are crank-off-start/idle-fly (COSIF) control knobs.
11 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the light bulbs are light-emitting diodes.
12 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the light bulbs, when turned on, emit white light.
13 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the engine control panel further comprises:
engine labels above the alert indicators.
14 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the engine control panel further comprises:
engine labels below the alert indicators.
15 . A method comprising:
detecting a problem with an engine of an aircraft;
providing an alert for the problem by:
rendering text on a color display of the aircraft using different colors based on a severity of the alert, the color display located in a primary field of view of a pilot of the aircraft; and
simultaneously with the rendering of the text on the color display, illuminating an alert indicator of the aircraft in a same color regardless of the severity of the alert, the alert indicator associated with the engine, the alert indicator being different from the color display, the alert indicator located in a secondary field of view of the pilot of the aircraft based on the alert indicator being disposed on a different surface of a cockpit of the aircraft than the color display, the secondary field of view being outside of the primary field of view such that the alert indicator and the color display are visually and spatially disconnected; and
receiving input from an engine control knob associated with the engine; and
transmitting a control signal to the engine.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein providing the alert for the problem further comprises:
playing an audio alert with an audio system of the aircraft.
17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the text is rendered in black when the alert is an advisory alert, the text is rendered in yellow when the alert is a cautionary alert, and the text is rendered in red when the alert is a critical alert.
18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the alert indicator is illuminated in white when the alert is an advisory alert, the alert indicator is illuminated in white when the alert is a cautionary alert, and the alert indicator is illuminated in white when the alert is a critical alert.
19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the engine control knob is one of a plurality of engine control knobs, and the alert indicator is disposed nearer to the engine control knob than to others of the engine control knobs.
20 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the alert indicator is one of a plurality of alert indicators, and the method further comprises:
before operation of the aircraft, testing the alert indicators by illuminating each of the alert indicators for a predetermined duration of time.