The Boeing Company

Johan L De Prins

David Garrido-Lopez

Bastian Figlar

Maxim Constantijn Vos

Daniel Ramiro Rebollo

Pawel Kajak

Thomas Edward Yochum

Anne Jacqueline Gertruda Theodora Scholtes

Ramon Gomez

Victor Arcos Barraquero

Niek Willem Klein Koerkamp

Julien Scharl

A system and a method for planning and flying a cost-optimal cruise vertical profile in combination with a required time-of-arrival (RTA) constraint. The method may be implemented as a single function in a flight management system (FMS). The FMS plans the aircraft trajectory with cruise vertical and speed profiles that are optimized to minimize flight cost (e.g., fuel burn) while meeting the time constraint. When appropriate under the circumstances, this integrated function is also able to degrade the cruise vertical profile in order to open the window of achievable RTAs and increase the RTA success rate. The method also monitors progress of the flight along the planned trajectory as actual flight conditions may differ from the forecasted flight conditions, and readapts the cruise speed profile when the estimated arrival time is deviating from the RTA constraint by more than a specified threshold.

System and method for optimizing a cruise vertical profile subject to a time-of-arrival constraint

Electronic devices and methods for optimizing the vertical profile to be flown by an aircraft during the cruise phase of a flight. Based on continuously updated information about the aircraft's weight and the atmospheric wind and temperature, the method provides an optimal sequence of climbs and/or descents along the flight path during the cruise phase. Following the step climb/descent profile proposed by the method results in the most cost-optimal flight (if a cost index was selected) or in the most fuel-efficient flight (if the long-range cruise mode was selected). The method may be implemented in the flight management computer or any other electronic data processing device that can access the required information to perform the calculations.

Electronic device and method for optimizing vertical profile for cruise phase of flight

A method for automatic generation of integration tests from unit tests includes automatically running, by a processor, a unit test for each model of a plurality of models making-up a system. The method also includes automatically determining, by the processor, integration of unit test cases of interfacing models for one or more groups of interfacing models of the plurality of models. The method additionally includes automatically running, by the processor, an integration test for each group of interfacing models using the unit tests for each model of the interfacing models. The method further includes automatically detecting, by the processor, at least one of inconsistent, incomplete or incorrect data transmitted between the interfacing models for each group of interfacing models.

Automatic generation of integration tests from unit tests

A method and electronic device for providing an optimal quantity of aircraft fuel. The method comprises collecting recorded flight data from past flights of an aircraft; determining aircraft specific performance correction parameters per flight phase, using the recorded flight data; collecting a flight plan of the aircraft; determining the total fuel required for the given flight plan, using the aircraft specific performance correction parameters; determining a single synthetic drag factor (&#x3f5;) and a single synthetic fuel factor (&#x3f5;) that, when used by the aircraft FMS, yield the said total fuel required for the given flight plan; receiving an estimated total fuel required determined by the aircraft FMS based on the flight plan, the single synthetic drag factor (&#x3f5;) and the single synthetic fuel factor (&#x3f5;). The method allows reducing the fuel weight and total flight cost, and is particularly advantageous for FMS which only admit one single drag factor and one single fuel factor.

Method and electronic device for providing an optimal quantity of aircraft fuel

Example methods and apparatus are described herein for establishing optimized holding patterns for aircraft. An example method includes generating, based on a cost function condition, a cost function with at least one holding pattern optimization parameter, applying an optimization routine to the cost function based on optimization conditions to obtain a value for the at least one holding pattern optimization parameter having a minimized cost, and obtaining an optimized holding pattern with the selected value for the at least one holding pattern optimization parameter.

Methods and apparatus to establish optimized holding patterns for aircraft

Methods and systems for guiding an aircraft are disclosed herein. An example method includes determining, via a processor, a difference between an estimated time of arrival and a required time of arrival of an aircraft. The example method also includes determining if the difference exceeds a threshold time. The example method further includes determining a deviation between a predicted four-dimensional flight trajectory of the aircraft and a measured four-dimensional flight trajectory of the aircraft during flight if the difference does not exceed the threshold time. The example method also includes generating a speed command to reduce the deviation and updating a flight plan of the aircraft based on the speed command.

Methods and systems for aircraft guidance

Systems and methods for generating arrival traffic schedules incorporating equipage-dependent in-trail spacing (time or distance). An arrival management system has a ground-based scheduling tool that applies customized spacing buffers between in-trail aircraft depending on the types of FMS equipage onboard aircraft sequence pairs.

Arrival Traffic scheduling system incorporating equipage-dependent in-trial spacing

A method of formulating a specification for temporal and vertical required navigation performance is described. The method assesses various flight management guidance systems methods and allows a specification to be set for an airport. The specification may be used to increase aircraft traffic into the airport. The specification sets limits on deviations in time and altitude, for example, on approach into arrivals at the airport. The method comprises: calculating temporal and vertical deviations from a reference trajectory for one or more flight management guidance methods for one or more aircraft types; and comparing the temporal and vertical deviations with operational requirements of the airport. The deviations from a reference trajectory may result from uncertainties affecting trajectory prediction, such as wind and temperature prediction accuracy.

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Heverlee, Belgium

Johan L De Prins