Method and computer program for determining configuration information

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for subsequently determining configuration information within an approach profile of an aircraft, wherein the method comprises the following steps performed by an electronic data processing system: - Providing an actual approach profile of an actual approach of an aircraft, wherein the approach profile for various spatial and / or temporal distances from a touchdown point includes at least one flight condition information of the aircraft on approach, - Providing a flight performance model relating to the aircraft on approach, in order to model flight performance information over the entire approach of the aircraft, - Providing initial configuration information within the approach profile, - Creating a simulated approach profile using an approach simulation, taking into account the configuration information and the provided flight performance model, wherein the simulated approach profile contains simulated flight state information of a simulated approach of the aircraft for various spatial and / or temporal distances from the touchdown point, - Determining a deviation between the simulated approach profile and the actual approach profile, - Configuration information varies depending on the detected deviation, and - Repeat the steps of creating the simulated approach profile, determining the deviation and varying the configuration information until the determined deviation corresponds to a predetermined quality measure.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for subsequently determining configuration information within an approach profile of an aircraft. The invention also relates to a computer program for implementing the method.

[0002] A frequently occurring problem in aviation is the determination of aircraft system states for the purpose of reconstructing or predicting the flight path. To date, the data freely available under operational conditions is very limited and only partially contains the information required for reconstruction.

[0003] For example, to determine noise in the approach and departure areas of airports, the precise configuration of the aircraft (configuration of the high-lift systems and / or landing gear) along the flight path is required in order to be able to make concrete statements about the noise exposure on the ground. Only those who know this local, spatial and / or temporal progression of the aircraft's configuration state within the area under consideration can precisely determine the noise and its propagation, for example in order to aim for noise reduction / mitigation to protect the population. However, as a rule, only radar or ADS-B data is available, which contain significant information about the aircraft's flight path, but not the specific system states. These may have to be determined retrospectively in order to be able to evaluate the noise in relation to the aircraft configuration.

[0004] Current approaches to determining an aircraft's configuration information are extremely complex and often require a large amount of additional information. Due to this complexity, these approaches often quickly reach various limitations that are not easily overcome. This reduces accuracy and thus reduces usefulness.

[0005] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for subsequently determining configuration information, for which only little information is necessary and yet has a high level of accuracy.

[0006] The object is achieved according to the invention with the method according to claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention can be found in the corresponding subclaims.

[0007] According to claim 1, a method for subsequently determining configuration information within an approach profile of an aircraft is proposed, the method comprising the following steps carried out by an electronic data processing system: - Providing an actual approach profile of an actual approach of an aircraft, wherein the approach profile contains at least one item of flight status information of the aircraft in approach for different spatial and / or temporal distances from a touchdown point, - Providing a performance model relating to the approaching aircraft in order to model performance information over the entire approach of the aircraft, - Providing initial configuration information within the approach profile, - Creating a simulated approach profile by means of an approach simulation taking into account the configuration information and the provided flight performance model, whereby the simulated approach profile contains simulated flight state information of a simulated approach of the aircraft for different spatial and / or temporal distances from the touchdown point, - Determining a deviation between the simulated approach profile and the actual approach profile, - Varying the configuration information depending on the detected deviation, and - Repeat the steps of creating the simulated approach profile, determining the deviation and varying the configuration information until the determined deviation corresponds to a specified quality measure.

[0008] First, an electronic data processing system is provided with an actual approach profile of an actual approach of an aircraft, whereby this approach has already taken place and is completely completed. This approach profile contains corresponding flight status information of the aircraft in approach, depending on the spatial (local) and / or temporal distance to the touchdown point. The spatial and / or temporal distance in relation to the touchdown point can be defined in relation to the airport runway on which the aircraft actually landed. The approach profile therefore contains at least one piece of flight status information for the aircraft for different spatial and / or temporal distances. This means that for any distance in relation to the touchdown point (e.g.at the airport on the runway) at least one corresponding flight status information of the aircraft during the approach can be determined from the actual approach profile, since the approach profile contains the corresponding flight status information during the approach and is related to the distance to the touchdown point.

[0009] Furthermore, a performance model of the aircraft in question, along with the actual approach profile, is provided to model performance information for the entire approach. Such performance information, which can be modeled from the performance model, can include, for example, aerodynamic parameters such as the drag coefficient along with the expected engine thrust. The respective acceleration of the aircraft during the approach is calculated using a suitable performance model, which, depending on the current flight condition, provides at least the expected engine thrust and the aerodynamic drag. Such a performance model can be, for example, BADA (Base of Aircraft Data from Eurocontrol) or ANP (Aircraft Noise and Performance from Eurocontrol).

[0010] Finally, to implement the procedure, initial configuration information within the approach profile is assumed as starting values. Configuration information includes information regarding a change in at least one aircraft configuration within the approach profile relative to the touchdown point. Such configuration information is defined in relation to the spatial and / or temporal distance to the touchdown point within the approach profile.

[0011] Such configuration information includes, in particular, the type of configuration change, for example, the change in the configuration of the high-lift aids and / or the change in the configuration of the landing gear. If, for example, the configuration of the high-lift aids is changed, the spatial and / or temporal position within the approach profile at which the configuration of the high-lift aids was changed is defined as a configuration point, whereby the new configuration of the high-lift aids is still defined for the configuration point. For example, in a standard approach profile, depending on the aircraft type, three configuration points can be defined: the moment at which the landing gear is extended and the two moments at which the configuration of the high-lift aids is changed.The number of configuration points can depend on the aircraft type, depending on how many configurations of the high-lift aids are planned for a standard approach. It is advantageous to specify the required number of configuration points that are normally planned for the approach and the aircraft in the simulation.

[0012] A simulated approach profile is then created using an approach simulation. Taking into account the initially assumed configuration information and the provided flight performance model, an approach to the touchdown point is simulated to create a simulated approach profile. The simulated approach profile contains corresponding simulated flight state information for various spatial and / or temporal distances from the touchdown point. Changes to the aircraft configuration at the initial configuration points affect the aircraft's flight performance at individual points in time during the approach and thus the simulated approach profile.

[0013] A deviation between the simulated approach profile and the actual approach profile is then determined, for example by comparing the simulated approach profile with the actual approach profile or by calculating a mathematical cost function. Based on this deviation, the configuration information (in particular the configuration points and configuration states) is varied, for example by changing the position of the configuration change within the approach profile. The change to the configuration information will be carried out in particular in such a way that the deviation between a simulated approach profile and the actual approach profile is reduced. This can be achieved, for example, by changing the result of the mathematical cost function by varying the configuration information.The configuration information is varied by a suitable mathematical optimization algorithm so that the result of the cost function is minimized.

[0014] This process is then repeated by creating another simulated approach profile, but incorporating the modified configuration points. This newly simulated approach profile is then compared with the actual approach profile, and a deviation is again determined. If this deviation is smaller than the previous deviation, it leads to an approximation of the actual configuration.

[0015] This process is then repeated until a specified quality measure is reached. Such a quality measure can be defined, for example, by a threshold value that must be reached for the deviation between the simulated approach profile and the actual approach profile so that the simulated approach profile essentially corresponds to the actual approach profile. This is preferably an optimization problem with the deviation (error) between the simulated and actual approach profile as the target variable and the configuration information (configuration point and configuration state) as the optimization parameter.

[0016] The actual approach profile can contain, as flight status information, the aircraft's position over time. From this, the altitude and, taking this time into account, the ground speed can be derived for a certain spatial and / or temporal distance from the touchdown point.

[0017] The simulated approach profile contains, in particular, the altitude and ground speed of the aircraft for a certain spatial and / or temporal distance from the touchdown point. The simulated approach profile may also include a simulated temporal progression of altitude and ground speed relative to the touchdown point.

[0018] The present invention makes it possible to subsequently determine the configuration information (configuration points, configuration state) of an actual approach without having to resort to complex and detailed system models. The present method can be easily adapted to any aircraft type, as long as the corresponding flight performance models and the relevant information on the high-lift aids are available for the various aircraft types. Because it uses generally valid relationships of flight physics, the method can be adapted to any aircraft type by simply modifying the flight-specific flight performance models.

[0019] Furthermore, the present method provides a fast and reliable method for locating the configuration points from generally freely available data sets of an actual approach, such as radar data or ADS-B data.

[0020] A touchdown point in the sense of the present invention is understood to be the point / location at which the aircraft touches down on the runway.

[0021] An approach profile in the sense of the present invention is understood to mean the temporal progression of one or more flight status information items, such as altitude and speed over ground, up to the touchdown point.

[0022] Configuration information refers, in particular, to the position of a change in the aircraft's configuration within the approach profile. Such a position is also called a configuration point. The configuration information can contain not only the configuration point, but also, for each configuration point, the configuration existing before the change and / or the configuration adopted after the change. For the purposes of this invention, the configuration of an aircraft is also referred to as the configuration state.

[0023] The configuration of the high-lift aids, for example, changes during the approach in defined steps, which are selected by the pilot using the flap lever. Configuration points are the points in the approach profile at which the configuration of the high-lift aids or the landing gear changes. The configuration points can also be defined as a function of time or distance from the touchdown point. The configuration point also provides information about the type of change, i.e., from which configuration to which configuration. For known configuration points, the progression of the configuration of the high-lift aids and the landing gear can be displayed over time or distance from the touchdown point.

[0024] The stabilization point is understood to be the point in the approach profile from which the aircraft has reached its final configuration state and final final approach speed during the normal approach and does not change or maintain this state until shortly before landing (touching down at the touchdown point).

[0025] According to one embodiment, the flight status information of the approach profiles is the flight altitude, the ground speed and / or position of the aircraft.

[0026] For example, the flight status information can initially represent the original measurement data. In the simplest case, this would be the three-dimensional position of the aircraft, including time and / or distance information to the touchdown point. The approach profile can contain a variety of such flight status information in the form of the aircraft's position, so that the approach profile maps a spatial and / or temporal progression of the three-dimensional position of the aircraft to the touchdown point. From this position data and its time information, it is then possible to determine, for example, the flight altitude and ground speed, so that from this approach profile with flight status information in the form of the aircraft's position data, a spatial and / or temporal progression of the flight altitude and ground speed up to the touchdown point can be derived.

[0027] It is also conceivable, however, that the flight status information already represents the altitude and ground speed, so that for each defined spatial and / or temporal distance to the touchdown point, a flight altitude and ground speed are defined in the approach profile. In this case, the approach profile thus contains a spatial and / or temporal progression of the flight altitude and ground speed up to the touchdown point.

[0028] According to one embodiment, it is provided that flight weather information regarding the actual approach of the aircraft is provided, wherein the creation of the simulated approach profile by means of the approach simulation continues to take into account the provided flight weather information.

[0029] Such flight weather information can, in particular, include wind information at the time of approach, e.g., wind direction and wind speed. The approach profile can include a spatial and / or temporal progression of flight weather information up to the touchdown point, e.g., in the form of a progression of wind direction and wind speed. This makes the input data for the simulation more precise, potentially allowing the estimated configuration points to be more accurately determined.

[0030] According to one embodiment, it is provided that the approach simulation is used to create the simulated approach profile starting from the touchdown point opposite to the flight direction of the aircraft.

[0031] In this particularly preferred embodiment, the simulated approach profile is calculated or simulated starting from the aircraft's touchdown on the runway (touchdown point) in the opposite direction of flight (backward simulation). Preferably, only simple flight physics relationships are used. The flight performance information from the flight performance model, such as the current drag coefficient and the expected thrust of the specific aircraft, are used to determine the aircraft's current acceleration state. The backward simulation has the advantage that the initial flight state of the aircraft landing on the runway is largely known, eliminating the need to start with estimated state values ​​as in a forward simulation.The backward simulation begins by using the flight condition that prevails when the aircraft lands on the runway as the starting parameter. This flight condition is generally largely known (within limits). Most aircraft have more than one configuration of the high-lift systems in which a landing is possible (landing configuration). However, if this configuration is unknown, it can be determined during the configuration point optimization. Various methods for estimating the potentially unknown aircraft mass can be found in the literature.

[0032] The simulation (both forward and reverse) is preferably carried out segment by segment, with the boundaries of the individual segments generally defined by predefined points within the approach profile. For example, it is conceivable that a reverse simulation is divided into two segments, with the boundaries of the two segments being defined by the stabilization point within the approach profile. The first segment is defined from the touchdown point to the stabilization point, while the second segment is defined from the stabilization point to the start of the approach (end of the simulation). If no information about the thrust state is available, a constant idle thrust can be assumed for both segments, for example, which is only a close approximation, at least for the first segment.

[0033] In order to avoid the need for information about the thrust state (precise thrust lever position), it is preferable to specify a constant airspeed (landing speed) in the first segment instead of calculating it based on the acceleration state, as the actual thrust would be required for the calculation. In a real approach, the landing speed is maintained from the time the stabilization altitude or stabilization point is reached until shortly before landing at the touchdown point, so that this is an unaccelerated flight segment. Typically, the airspeed is not exactly constant, e.g. due to wind influences. Therefore, it is conceivable to specify the "measured" airspeed (including fluctuations) instead of a constant airspeed, so that the simulation and measured data in the first segment match better.If only ground speed is available, wind information can be used to determine the “measured” airspeed (accuracy depends on the available wind information).

[0034] In the second segment, the speed can be calculated from the acceleration state, e.g. from the forces acting on the aircraft: essentially thrust and drag. This requires information about the thrust. The drag is determined by the flight performance model as a function of the aircraft configuration (flaps, landing gear). Here, it can be assumed that idle thrust is present because the aim is to fly at idle for noise and efficiency reasons. Flight performance models provide information about the thrust for certain thrust levels (e.g. idle, full throttle). However, the exact thrust lever position for thrust levels between idle and full throttle is unknown and cannot be easily determined. Therefore, for simplicity, idle thrust is assumed. This assumption has been shown to produce a very good estimate from the simulation.

[0035] According to one embodiment, it is therefore provided that a stabilization point is first determined from which the aircraft has reached its final approach speed and its final configuration state, wherein a first segment of the simulated approach profile is created from the touchdown point to the determined stabilization point, taking into account a final approach speed.

[0036] According to one embodiment, the configuration information is varied by an optimization method in which the error between the actual approach profile and the simulated approach profile is minimized until the predetermined quality measure is achieved.

[0037] According to one embodiment, the error is minimized using a simple gradient method.

[0038] The object is also achieved according to the invention with the computer program according to claim 10, wherein the computer program has program code means which are set up to carry out the method described above when the computer program is executed on a data processing system.

[0039] The invention is explained by way of example with reference to the accompanying figures. They show: Fig. 1 schematic representation of the sequence of the method according to the invention; Fig. 2 schematic representation of an approach profile; Fig. 3 Illustration of an example evaluation.

[0040] Fig. 1 shows the sequence of the method according to the invention in a schematic representation. First, data is provided that contains an actual approach profile 100. The actual approach profile 100 comprises at least the position data of the approach of an aircraft to an airport, from which at least the altitude of the aircraft can then be derived. The position data preferably comprises the three-dimensional positioning of the flying object in space, with each position data additionally having a timestamp so that, in addition to the altitude of the flying object, the speed of the aircraft over the ground can also be derived. The acceleration of the approaching aircraft is generally not required; in the simulation, the acceleration state results from the force balance (essentially from drag and thrust).For this purpose, the flight performance model is required to provide the drag and thrust of the aircraft depending on the current flight condition (altitude, speed) and the current configuration (high-lift aids, landing gear).

[0041] Using the actual approach profile 100, corresponding flight weather information 110 in the area of ​​the approach can then be determined, in particular based on the time and date information in the approach profile 100, in order to know the prevailing weather conditions (in particular wind direction and wind strength) in the airport area at the time of approach.

[0042] Furthermore, a flight performance model 120 of the aircraft in question is provided, from which corresponding flight performance information of the aircraft, such as the drag coefficient or thrust, can be determined.

[0043] This information is then provided, along with initial configuration points 130, to an approach simulation 140, which calculates a simulated approach profile 150 taking into account the initial configuration points 130, the provided flight performance model 120, and preferably the flight weather information 110. The approach simulation is a model for simulating an approach.

[0044] The simulated approach profile 150 includes a plurality of flight status information for various spatial and / or temporal distances from the touchdown point, such as altitude, ground speed, and configuration of the high-lift aids and landing gear.

[0045] The simulated approach profile 150 is then compared with the actual approach profile 100 in order to determine a deviation 160. In particular, the information contained in the actual approach profile 100 regarding the aircraft's altitude and ground speed are compared with the information on the altitude and ground speed contained in the simulated approach profile 150. The deviation resulting from the comparison is then provided to a configuration point estimator 170, which varies the configuration points regarding the configuration of high-lift aids and / or landing gear in order to then make them available as configuration points 130 for a new run of the model simulation 140.

[0046] In the simulation, for example, both the airspeed and the ground speed are calculated, although this may require information about the wind (depending on availability, various assumptions can be made here: e.g. no wind, constant wind during the approach from measurements taken locally at the airport; wind along the approach path derived from measured data of the airspeed and ground speed). If the airspeed is available, the airspeed can also be used as a target variable. As a rule, only the temporal progression of the airspeed is known from measured data (measurement data provide airspeed and the time of measurement), so the speed progression over the distance to the touchdown point can only be determined if the position of the aircraft, including the times of measurement, is known at the same time.

[0047] When varying the configuration points, the spatial and / or temporal distance to the touchdown point for the respective configuration point is varied.

[0048] The predefined configuration points 130 refer to common configurations that actually occur regularly during an approach.

[0049] This process is then repeated until the deviation 160 is minimized to the point where it meets a specified quality level. In this case, the simulated approach profile 150 contains the configuration points at which a configuration change was made to the aircraft during the approach.

[0050] In the example application in Fig. 3 the dataset consists of reduced flight operations data, as this contains the true configuration points for comparison with the results of the method. To determine the configuration points, only the aircraft's position data (including flight altitude) and the ground speed determinable from the position data and the corresponding measurement time are used. If available, the airspeed can also be used, which has a positive effect on the need for wind information. Otherwise, this is obtained, for example, from available flight weather information for the respective airport area at the time of the respective flight. In principle, the flight mechanics ensure that wind information and actual airspeed are interchangeable, as long as the ground speed is known. Using all information is obviously beneficial for the result.

[0051] Based on the information in the approach profile, the model behavior can be adjusted using the configuration points so that its outputs exhibit the smallest possible error compared to the measured data. For model simulation, flight performance information for the specific aircraft is required. This can be obtained from any (freely available) source. It has been shown that "simple" flight performance models such as BADA (Base of Aircraft Data, Eurocontrol) or ANP (Aircraft Noise and Performance, Eurocontrol) can be sufficient, and that highly complex or detailed flight performance models are not required to determine the necessary information. ANP was used in the example application. Due to the simplicity of the method based on fundamental flight physics, the use of manual methods would probably even be conceivable.There are no significant limitations here as long as the information represents the actual flight performance of the aircraft.

[0052] In the example application, the approach is calculated or simulated backwards, i.e., against the direction of flight, starting from the aircraft's touchdown at the touchdown point. Only simple flight physics relationships are used for this purpose. The basis for the backward simulation are known flight-state-dependent flight performance parameters (e.g., the current drag coefficient and / or thrust) of the specific aircraft type, from which the aircraft's current acceleration state can be determined. Flight state refers to variables such as the aircraft's current mass, airspeed, altitude, or configuration state (landing gear, high-lift systems).

[0053] First, a segment is calculated at a constant flight speed (the initially determined final approach speed) up to a stabilization point (at which the aircraft reaches its final approach speed). In this first segment of the reverse simulation, no information about the current thrust state is required. Furthermore, the speed can be derived from the measurement or is known. However, a fluctuating speed profile can also be specified in this segment, e.g., from the ground speed and wind information at the time of approach. Specifying a speed allows thrust information to be omitted here.

[0054] In the subsequent second segment, the aircraft's acceleration is calculated for the current flight condition. A suitable thrust model is required for this. In the simplest case, which is the target during operational flight, the engine idle thrust is assumed. However, if necessary, the thrust can also be specified or varied by other means.

[0055] Based on the current acceleration, the airspeed for the subsequent approach is calculated, along with the ground speed and, taking the local wind into account, the trajectory / position. At externally specified configuration points along the trajectory, the aircraft is configured accordingly in the reverse simulation (landing gear retracted / extended and / or the configuration of the high-lift aids varied), which results in a change in flight performance and thus in acceleration. Varying the configuration points changes the speed profile of the approach. These can thus be used as parameters for formulating a simple optimization problem, which, with the appropriate target variables, then delivers an optimal solution for the actual or most probable configuration points.

[0056] The structure of the flight path in the reverse simulation is as in Fig. 2, where the calculation direction is drawn opposite to the flight direction, starting at touchdown point 200.

[0057] A core element of the present invention is the estimation of the configuration points 210, 220, 230 based on three-dimensional position data (including associated measurement times) by comparing the actual and simulated approach profile. The error between the model and the measurement can be minimized as a target variable. In the example application, the error between the model and the measurement for position (altitude) and speed (over ground) is minimized. As with the basic optimization problem formulation, any optimization method can be used to solve the problem. However, the use of simple, fast optimization methods is useful because they can quickly lead to a good result. In order to find the best possible solution, which by definition corresponds with a high probability to the actual configuration points, these are varied until the method has minimized the error.Furthermore, the problem can be extended to include the estimation of the unknown stabilization point without restriction. Theoretically, additional parameters such as aircraft mass, engine thrust, or altitude-dependent wind can also be defined as part of the optimization problem based on the observed variables (position / speed).

[0058] The advantage of a knowledge-based formulation of the (optimization) problem is directly evident in the speed of the method, the quality of the results, and the specific adaptability to different aircraft types without any specific effort. Furthermore, the estimation can be further optimized if necessary to circumvent any problems in finding the optimal solution due to the specific formulation of the problem using suitable methods such as multi-start procedures.

[0059] In Fig. Figure 3 shows exemplary simulated approach profiles for various configuration specifications (configuration points) compared to the actual approach profile. The position and speed information was extracted from existing flight operations data, as the true, actual configuration points are also known within this flight operations data. Flight operations data is generally not freely available and is used here only for illustrative purposes / validation of the method.

[0060] In the Fig. Figure 3 shows the ground speed a), the configuration of the high-lift systems b) (as an angle in degrees), and the point of landing gear extension c) plotted against the distance to the touchdown point. For the landing gear, the command is a jump from 0 (retracted) to 1 (extended). The distance to the touchdown point is shown as negative for purely practical reasons.

[0061] Each course contains information about the actual flight course 10, where altitude and ground speed represent target variables for optimization and configuration point estimation. 11 represents the simulated flight course with random starting values ​​for the configuration points, and 12 represents the course after application of the method of the present invention.

[0062] It is clearly evident that simulation 11, with random starting values, cannot even begin to reproduce the speed profile. After estimating the configuration points and the stabilization point, not only does the speed profiles 10 and 12 show very good agreement, but also the configuration points. The configuration points for changing the configuration of the high-lift aids and the landing gear are very close to the actual points from the flight operations data. The accuracy of well under one nautical mile achieved without further optimization of the procedure significantly exceeds most results from the literature. List of reference symbols 10 actual approach profile 11 Approach profile with any starting values 12 simulated approach profile 100 data sets of the actual approach profile 110 Aviation Weather Information 120 flight performance model 130 configuration points 140 approach simulation 150 simulated approach profile 160 deviation 170 configuration point estimation 200 touchdown point 210 first configuration point - chassis 220 second configuration point - first change of the high-lift aids 230 third configuration point - second change of the high-lift aids 240 stabilization point 250 final approach speed

Claims

[1] A method for subsequently determining configuration information within an approach profile of an aircraft, the method comprising the following steps carried out by an electronic data processing system: - Providing an actual approach profile (10) of an actual approach of an aircraft, wherein the approach profile contains at least one item of flight status information of the aircraft in approach for different spatial and / or temporal distances from a touchdown point (200), - providing a flight performance model (120) relating to the aircraft on approach in order to model flight performance information over the entire approach of the aircraft, - Providing initial configuration information within the approach profile, - Creating a simulated approach profile (12) by means of an approach simulation (140) taking into account the configuration information and the provided flight performance model (120), wherein the simulated approach profile (12) contains simulated flight state information of a simulated approach of the aircraft for different spatial and / or temporal distances from the touchdown point (200), - determining a deviation (160) between the simulated approach profile (12) and the actual approach profile (10), - varying the configuration information depending on the determined deviation (160), and - Repeating the steps of creating the simulated approach profile (12), determining the deviation (160) and varying the configuration information until the determined deviation (160) corresponds to a predetermined quality measure. [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized bythat the flight status information of the approach profiles includes the altitude, ground speed and / or position data of the aircraft, including time information for each position data. [3] Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that flight weather information (110) regarding the actual approach of the aircraft is provided, wherein the creation of the simulated approach profile (12) by means of the approach simulation (140) continues to take into account the provided flight weather information (110). [4] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that by means of the approach simulation (140) the simulated approach profile (12) is created starting from the touchdown point (200) against the flight direction of the aircraft. [5] Method according to claim 4, characterized bythat first a stabilization point (240) is determined from which the aircraft has reached its final approach speed (250), wherein a first flight segment of the simulated approach profile (12) is created from the touchdown point (200) to the determined stabilization point (240) taking into account a final approach speed (250). [6] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the variation of the configuration information is carried out by an optimization process in which an error between the actual approach profile (10) and the simulated approach profile (12) is minimized until the specified quality measure is achieved. [7] Method according to claim 6, characterized by that the error is minimized using a simple gradient method. [8] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the configuration information contains at least one configuration point (130, 210, 220, 230) as a spatial and / or temporal distance from the touchdown point (200) in the approach profile at which the configuration of the aircraft changes from a first configuration to a second configuration. [9] Method according to claim 8, characterized by that the configuration information for each configuration point (130, 210, 220, 230) contains the first configuration and / or the second configuration. [10] Computer program with program code means, arranged to carry out the method according to one of the preceding claims when the computer program is executed on a data processing system.

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