Instrumentation systems

Claim 1

AN INTEGRATED PERFORMANCE DISPLAY FOR AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT FLYING, PRESENTING AIRCRAFT ATTITUDE AND RELATED INFORMATION FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF A PILOT FLYING BY VISUAL OBSERVATION, BUT WITH THE AIRCRAFT ITSELF TAKEN AS A FIXED REFERENCE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ENVIRONMENT, COMPRISING: MEANS DEFINING A DISPLAY FIELD HAVING AN CONSTANTLY FIXED REFERENCE HORIZON LINE SEPARATING AN UPPER SKY AREA FROM A LOWER GROUND AREA; AN ATTITUDE INDICATOR; LOCATED WITHIN SAID DISPLAY FIELD; MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID INDICATOR ABOUT AN AXIS NORMAL TO THE PLANE OF SAID DISPLAY FIELD TO INDICATE ROLL OF THE AIRCRAFT WHILE THE REFERENCE HORIZON LINE REMAINS FIXED; MEANS FOR MOVING SAID INDICATOR UPWARD AND DOWNWARD NORMAL TO SAID HORIZON LINE, WITHIN SAID DISPLAY FIELD, WHILE THE REFERENCE HORIZON LINE, WITHIN SAID DISPLAY FIELD, DICATE PITCH ATTITUDE OF THE AIRCRAFT; AND MEANS, WITHIN SAID DISPLAY FIELD, FOR DISPLAYING VARIATIONS OF THE ACTUAL AIRCRAFT SPEED AND HEADING WITH RESPECT TO PREDETERMINED SPEED AND HEADING CONDITIONS, WHEREBY ALL ATTITUDES OF THE AIRCRAFT ARE DEPICTED BY MOVEMENTS OF SAID INDICATOR DURING WHICH MOVEMENTS THE REFERENCE HORIZON LINE REMAINS FIXED AND NEED NOT BE MOVED TO DEPICT ATTITUDES OF THE AIR CRAFT RELATIVE TO THE GROUND.