In the past, pilots have often been given the sole responsibility for guiding their aircraft during events, such as missed approaches and circling maneuvers. Often the responsibility upon the pilot is considerable.
One example of a situation where a pilot is called upon to bear a considerable burden is during circling maneuvers. The Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) from the Federal Aviation Regulations states the following:                “Circling may require maneuvers at low altitude, at low airspeed, and in marginal weather conditions. Pilots must use sound judgment, have an in-depth knowledge of their capabilities, and fully understand the aircraft performance to determine the exact circling maneuver, since weather, unique airport design, and the aircraft position, altitude and airspeed must all be considered.”        
The problem is compounded because the time for making all of these decisions is inherently limited owing to the fact that the aircraft is constantly moving, and the area for obstacle-free flight is limited. For example, the final approach obstacle clearance area is often 2.3 miles or less for most approach categories. This means that the pilot must react immediately and correctly on the first attempt. There often will not be a sufficient margin for making a circling error and later correcting such an error.
Attempts have been made to provide pilots with detailed guidance information and precise guidance for controlling the attitude of the aircraft. Synthetic vision systems have been proposed where a “tunnel through the sky” is displayed to a pilot. These synthetic vision systems have the capability of providing much needed assistance to the pilots.
While these synthetic vision systems may have many advantages in particular uses, they are often limited to calculating and displaying guidance along a published path from a predetermined starting point. These synthetic vision systems have heretofore been unable to provide a precise path and full heading, pitch-and-roll guidance from random locations of an aircraft, such as during missed approaches, especially late occurrences of missed approaches.
Consequently, there exists a need for improved methods and systems for aiding a pilot with full guidance information along a non-published preferred flight path with random origin.