US 12,067,886 B2
Device for producing a flight plan for lightweight aircraft
Fabian Klüßendorf, Taufkirchen (DE); Paul Stevens, Stevenage (GB); and Steve Tate, Stevenage (GB)
Assigned to Aalto Haps Limited, Stevenage (GB)
Appl. No. 17/433,290
Filed by Aalto Haps Limited, Stevenage (GB)
PCT Filed Feb. 26, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/054955
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Aug. 24, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/173971, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 3, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 10 2019 104 795.1 (DE), filed on Feb. 26, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0148441 A1, May 12, 2022
Int. Cl. G08G 5/00 (2006.01); G06F 30/20 (2020.01)
CPC G08G 5/0034 (2013.01) [G06F 30/20 (2020.01)] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A device for producing a flight plan for a lightweight aircraft, the lightweight aircraft having a weight less than 200 kg and a wingspan of the wings greater than 10 m, the device comprising:
a first interface configured to receive aircraft data relating to the lightweight aircraft, wherein the aircraft data at least contain flight properties and functions of the lightweight aircraft, wherein the flight properties and functions of the lightweight aircraft comprise one or more of the following parameters of the lightweight aircraft: velocity, movement direction, position, charge level of the batteries, static properties including weight, spatial dimensions, and resistance coefficient, and variable properties including available energy for a drive unit, parameters relating to the structural integrity of the lightweight aircraft, restrictions of the drive power, change of status information including accelerated flight, operation with or without payload mode, and with or without switched-on position lights, and behavior of the aircraft data or the properties of the aircraft including behavior of the batteries, altitude, and motor loads;
a second interface configured to receive weather data from a weather information source, wherein the weather data at least contain weather data from the past and at least contain air movements in an altitude profile between a maximum altitude of the lightweight aircraft and the Earth's surface, wherein the altitude profile is a vertical profile and contains at least information relating to wind direction and wind speed above a point of the Earth's surface at various or multiple altitude or pressure increments; and
a processing unit configured to compare the aircraft data to the weather data by predicting a behavior of the lightweight aircraft for specific weather data, and to ascertain whether the lightweight aircraft is maneuverable in the case of the received weather data and on the basis of the aircraft data, wherein the lightweight aircraft is determined to be maneuverable when the aircraft is predicted to maintain a desired movement direction or general a flight trajectory in spite of environmental or weather influences using active and passive systems, wherein the active system is a drive of the lightweight aircraft and the passive systems are control flaps or control surfaces, wherein the processing unit is configured to relate the wind direction and the wind speed to the flight properties of the lightweight aircraft, which include the maximum achievable flight speed resulting from an angle of attack and an energy availability, to ascertain whether the lightweight aircraft is predicted to maintain a desired or predetermined flight route at the wind direction and the wind speed; and
wherein the processing unit is configured to generate a flight plan by selecting a suitable aircraft for a specific time window and a specific location on the Earth in dependence of the weather data in order to execute a mission.