Flight Plan Data Capture with Weather and Traffic Ranking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for providing flight plan data to users do not effectively account for real-time air traffic and weather conditions, leading to potential route modifications by aviation authorities without pilot input, and lack efficient methods for users to propose routes likely to obtain regulatory clearance before takeoff.
Innovation Solution
A method that extracts and stores flight plan data from live air traffic data, associates it with weather conditions and scheduled times, and ranks potential routes based on historical probability of being selected as cleared flight plans, providing this information to users via wireless or wide area networks before regulatory clearance is obtained.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If flight plan data is extracted from historical air traffic data only, then data availability is improved, but relevance to current air traffic and weather conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary extraction and storage of flight plan data from historical air traffic data, then enriches it with current weather and air traffic conditions before providing recommendations to pilots. This preliminary preparation allows the system to have historical data ready while still incorporating real-time conditions for accurate route clearance probability assessment
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically updates flight plan recommendations by combining historical flight plan data with real-time air traffic and weather conditions. The route clearance probability is dynamically calculated based on current conditions, allowing the system to adapt to changing environmental factors while maintaining a database of historical routes
2Loss of information
If comprehensive flight plan data including weather and time is stored, then data completeness is improved, but database complexity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The database is segmented into distinct modules: historical flight plan data storage, current weather condition data, air traffic condition data, and route clearance probability calculations. This segmentation allows comprehensive data collection while maintaining manageable database structure through modular organization of related data types
Solution Approach 2:
The database structure is designed to handle multiple types of flight plan data (historical, current, weather, traffic) using a unified schema that can accommodate various data types. This universal structure reduces overall complexity by providing a consistent framework for storing and retrieving diverse flight plan information
3Measurement precision
If route ranking based on clearance probability is implemented, then route selection accuracy is improved, but processing time deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system calculates route clearance probability for a limited set of historically relevant routes rather than all possible routes. By focusing computational resources on the most probable candidate routes based on historical patterns, the system achieves high accuracy while minimizing processing time through selective calculation
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for providing to a user a candidate list of flight plans that specify one or more planned routes of flight from one location to another location, such routes satisfying certain criteria. These criteria include ranking the candidate list of flight plans according to the probability that the flight plan may be allowed or cleared by a controlling authority based on historic cleared flight plans; further qualifying this list by considering only candidate flight plans cleared during specified weather conditions; or specified time periods; or requested speed and/or altitude and/or aircraft type of flight parameters. Various embodiments include providing the candidate list of flight plans to the user by means of a communication system that is composed of a combination of a wide-area network, a wireless network or the internet. Additionally, an embodiment includes providing the flight plan data to a global positioning system (GPS) of a user.