Abstract: A system for integrating flight crew decision aid applications in an aircraft cockpit includes a touch screen controller (TSC) that comprises a data mining engine configured to mine aircraft data from the already existing avionics interface and a flight plan and trajectory generating engine (FPTGE) configured to retrieve a trajectory request from a requesting flight crew decision aid application, compute one or more theoretical trajectories using the mined aircraft data, and transmit the one or more theoretical trajectories to the requesting flight crew decision aid application. The TSC also comprises a flight crew decision aid application configured to receive a flight crew request for simulated data from a touch screen user interface, generate and transmit one or more requested trajectory requests to the FPTGE, receive data from the one or more theoretical trajectories from the FPTGE, and display the requested simulated data on the touch screen user interface.

Abstract: A touch screen controller for an aircraft and a method for operating the same are provided. The method, for example, may include, but is not limited to, receiving, by a core interface in a first core of a touch screen controller, a data or service request for a flight management system from a second core of a touch screen controller, validating, by the core interface, the received data or service request for the flight management system, wherein the data or service request is validated when the applications executing on the first core are idle, a flight phase of the aircraft matches a flight phase associated with the application executing on the second core, and the data or service request is within aircraft performance limits and operational limits.

Abstract: A system for integrating flight crew decision aid applications in an aircraft cockpit includes a touch screen controller (TSC) that comprises a data mining engine configured to mine aircraft data from the already existing avionics interface and a flight plan and trajectory generating engine (FPTGE) configured to retrieve a trajectory request from a requesting flight crew decision aid application, compute one or more theoretical trajectories using the mined aircraft data, and transmit the one or more theoretical trajectories to the requesting flight crew decision aid application. The TSC also comprises a flight crew decision aid application configured to receive a flight crew request for simulated data from a touch screen user interface, generate and transmit one or more requested trajectory requests to the FPTGE, receive data from the one or more theoretical trajectories from the FPTGE, and display the requested simulated data on the touch screen user interface.

Abstract: Aircraft systems and related methods are provided for extensible flight management capabilities. One exemplary system includes a multifunction computing module including a user interface, a first processing system, and a first communications interface supporting a first data characteristic, and a flight management computing module. The flight management computing module includes at least one avionics interface to receive operational data from an avionics system onboard an aircraft and having a second data characteristic different from the first data characteristic, a second communications interface communicatively coupled to the first communications interface to the multifunction computing module, and a second processing system coupled to the avionics interface and the second communications interface to convert the operational data to input data having the first data characteristic and provide the input data to the multifunction computing module.

Abstract: A keyboard module configured for use in an avionics touchscreen system is disclosed. The keyboard module is configured to display, via a visual display in the avionics touchscreen system and responsive to a selection of an application program generated widget for focus via a touchscreen surface in the avionics touchscreen system, a virtual keyboard. The virtual keyboard includes a text box widget configured to display clip data stored in clipboard memory provided by the avionics touchscreen system, a copy widget configured to cause data in a first widget provided by the application program that is in focus to be copied to the clipboard memory, and a paste widget configured to cause the clip data in the clipboard memory and displayed in the text box widget to be pasted to a second widget provided by the application program that is in focus.