Flight Control Wind Data Selection for Descent Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current flight control systems do not effectively reduce fuel consumption and emissions during airplane descents for landing, particularly because they rely on outdated wind information and increase bandwidth requirements for radio transmissions.
Innovation Solution
A method to select and transmit optimal wind data elements to subscribing airplanes, which are used to create a wind profile that minimizes fuel consumption and emissions by interpolating wind data along the predicted airplane trajectory, allowing for adjustments in descent speed and timing to reduce engine thrust and optimize fuel economy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If comprehensive wind data sets are transmitted to subscribing airplanes, then the accuracy of wind information for flight planning is improved, but the bandwidth requirements for radio transmissions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the most relevant wind data elements from comprehensive wind data sets based on the predicted airplane trajectory. The flight management system identifies and transmits only those wind data elements that are necessary for accurate flight planning along the specific trajectory, filtering out redundant information to reduce bandwidth requirements while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by providing wind data specifically tailored to the local conditions along the predicted airplane trajectory. Instead of transmitting uniform comprehensive wind data for all possible scenarios, the system customizes the wind data set to match the specific spatial and temporal characteristics of the airplane's planned flight path, ensuring high accuracy where needed while reducing overall data volume.
2Quantity of substance
If outdated wind information is used for flight planning, then bandwidth requirements are reduced, but the fuel consumption and emissions during descent increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by providing accurate, up-to-date wind information to the flight management system before the descent phase begins. This allows the flight management system to calculate optimal descent trajectories in advance that account for current wind conditions, enabling the airplane to execute fuel-efficient continuous descent approaches without requiring excessive bandwidth during the actual descent operation.
3Quantity of substance
If stepwise descent with holding patterns is used, then bandwidth requirements for communication are reduced, but fuel consumption and emissions increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables continuous descent approaches by providing accurate wind data that allows the flight management system to calculate and execute smooth, continuous descent trajectories without interruptions. This eliminates the need for stepwise descent with holding patterns, maintaining continuous useful action throughout the descent phase to minimize fuel consumption and emissions while keeping communication bandwidth requirements low through selective data transmission.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention involves a method comprising the steps of - providing (S3) a wind data set (3) including wind data of a plurality of positions, receiving (S4) data for a predicted airplane trajectory (311 ), - providing (S5), based on the wind data set (3), a set of wind data elements (302), each including data concerning wind at a position along the predicted airplane trajectory (311 ), - repeating steps of selecting a subset of wind data elements (302S), creating a wind profile (303), and comparing the wind profile (303) to the set of wind data elements (302), and - selecting (S10) to be sent to a subscriber (2, 4) a subset of wind data elements (302S) based at least partly on which a wind profile (303) was created corresponding to the largest extent to the set of wind data elements (302).