A craft comprises at least one hull; at least one wing configured to generate upwards aero lift as air flows past the at least one wing to facilitate wing-borne flight of the craft; a front hydrofoil connected to the at least one hull via a front hydrofoil strut and configured to generate upward hydrofoil lift as water flows past the front hydrofoil to facilitate hydrofoil-borne movement of the craft through the water; a rear hydrofoil connected to the at least one hull via a rear hydrofoil strut and configured to generate upward hydrofoil lift as water flows past the rear hydrofoil to facilitate hydrofoil-borne movement of the craft through the water; and a control system. While the craft is hydrofoil-borne, the control system is configured to facilitate transition of the craft from hydrofoil-borne operation to wing-borne operation via a process comprising: while the upwards aero lift generated by the at least one wing is below a threshold lift, controlling one or both of the front hydrofoil and the rear hydrofoil to generate a downward hydrofoil lift that causes the front hydrofoil and the rear hydrofoil to remain at least partially submerged in the water; and after the upwards aero lift generated by the at least one wing has increased above the threshold lift, transitioning the craft from hydrofoil-borne operation to wing-borne operation at least in part by controlling one or both of the front hydrofoil and the rear hydrofoil to switch from (a) generating the downward hydrofoil lift to (b) generating an upward hydrofoil lift that pushes the craft up and out of the water.

A computer-implemented method of enabling optimisation of trajectory for a vehicle, the method comprising: determining a trajectory for the vehicle using: an algorithm; a vehicle model defining path constraints for the vehicle through space; a propulsion system model defining parameters of a propulsion system of the vehicle; an objective function defining one or more objectives; and controlling output of the determined trajectory.

A flight control system for an aircraft including a first set of primary flight control computers and a second set of secondary flight control computers, where each primary flight control computer implements a first autopilot functionality. The secondary flight control computers jointly take control of control surface actuators when the primary flight control computers fail. The flight control system further includes another computer, to which the secondary flight control computers are connected, which implements a simplified second autopilot functionality, the second autopilot functionality being able to be activated only when the second set of flight control computers has control of the control surface actuators. Thus, an autopilot functionality is widely available, while at the same time ensuring the robustness sought by the installation of the secondary flight control computers.

Systems and methods are provided for landing of an aerial vehicle on a runway. The systems include a runway overrun awareness and alerting system (ROAAS) configured to: monitor flight parameters during an approach phase and landing phase of a flight, and determine a landing distance value based on the flight parameters, an automatic flight control system (AFCS) including an automatic flight runway overrun awareness and alerting system (AF-ROAAS) protection mode configured to adjust energy of the aerial vehicle during the approach phase and/or the landing phase to reduce a likelihood of the aerial vehicle overrunning the runway, and a controller configured to: compare the landing distance value and an available runway length value to a threshold criterion, wherein the threshold criterion corresponds to the likelihood of the vehicle overrunning the runway, and automatically activating the AF-ROAAS protection mode in response to a determination that the threshold criterion is met.

According to an embodiment, a control device controls a user-wearable flight device and includes a processing unit configured to acquire state data related to a state of the flight device and manipulation data related to a manipulation of the flight device, input the acquired state data and the acquired manipulation data to a model trained using deep reinforcement learning, and control the flight device on the basis of an output result of the model to which the state data and the manipulation data are input.

An aircraft includes an autopilot system including one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to, in response to selection of an autopilot activation button during flight of the aircraft while the aircraft is operating in a first condition, apply first control laws to automatically control the flight of the aircraft. The one or more processors are further configured to, in response to selection of the autopilot activation button while the aircraft is operating in a second condition, apply second control laws to automatically control the flight of the aircraft, where the second control laws are different from the first control laws.

Systems and methods are provided for landing site selection and flight path planning for an aircraft using soaring weather conditions. The methods may include, with one or more processors of a controller onboard the aircraft: receiving data indicative of terrain, airports, airspace, aerodynamics of the aircraft, real-time weather, and real-time status of the aircraft, determining a gliding range of the aircraft based at least in part on soaring weather conditions that include environmental regions of thermal draft capable of producing lift sufficient to extend the gliding range of the aircraft, determining a landing site for the aircraft based on the gliding range of the aircraft, and determining a flight path of the aircraft that uses the soaring weather conditions to extend the gliding range of the aircraft and land at the landing site.

A method of operating a multi-mode radar system during multiple phases of autonomous aircraft operation may include, at an aircraft configured for autonomous operations and including a multi-mode radar system, the multi-mode radar system including a two-dimensional array of antenna elements: during an autonomous taxiing phase, operating the multi-mode radar system in a first radar mode to detect ground-based objects, and in response to a prediction of a collision between a ground-based object and the aircraft, executing a ground maneuver to change a direction of travel of the aircraft over ground. The method may further include, during an autonomous flight phase, operating the multi-mode radar system in a second radar mode to detect airborne objects, and in response to a prediction of a collision between an airborne object and the aircraft, executing a flight maneuver to change a direction of flight of the aircraft.

An anticollision monitoring system of a following aircraft includes electronic circuitry to store an initial power value of a radiofrequency signal received from a leading aircraft and to repeatedly carry out steps of receiving information relating to the power level of the radiofrequency signal received from the leading aircraft, storing a value of the power level, referred to as the current power level value; calculating a difference between the current power value and the initial power value, determining a first risk of collision between the following aircraft and the leading aircraft if the calculated difference is greater than a power threshold, and if the first collision risk is determined, ordering the issue of an alert in the cockpit of the following aircraft and ordering a disengagement of the participation of the following aircraft in the formation flight.

This disclosure relates to systems and methods for providing a copilot replacement system (CPRS) that enables dual-pilot or multi-pilot aircraft to be operated by a single onboard pilot. Amongst other things, the CPRS solutions can include components that autonomously execute functions traditionally performed by an onboard copilot and/or can establish connections with one or more copilot ground base stations (GBSs) that enable ground-based copilots to remotely provide assistance with operating the aircraft.