3-D flight path display

Rockwell Collins, Inc. has developed an advanced Flight Management System that features a 3-D flight path display, which provides lateral, vertical, and performance predicted flight plan information.

Various industry research and development projects are underway to improve vertical situation awareness in the cockpit. One area of interest is related to the Flight Management System (FMS). Pilot understanding of flight planning, especially associated with comprehending the FMS planned lateral and vertical path, can be a difficult task. Flight plan modifications, which sometimes occur during high pilot workload situations, can complicate this process. Existing FMS designs provide large quantities of textual information to describe the FMS vertical flight plan and predicted trajectory. This requires the pilot to assimilate large amounts of text data to construct a mental image of the current and anticipated aircraft situation. A 3-D flight path display presentation, which graphically depicts the flight plan and predicted vertical trajectory of the aircraft on a multifunctional display (MFD), is believed by Rockwell Collins to provide a desirable alternative and more efficient means for the pilot to understand the FMS information.