FMS Arrival Procedure Prioritization for Busy Airport Approaches
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Solution Overview
Problem
Air traffic controllers face challenges in selecting and communicating optimal arrival procedures to aircraft due to high demand, leading to delays, fuel consumption, and potential miscommunication in busy airports.
Innovation Solution
A flight management system that calculates and displays available arrival procedures prioritized by headwind, estimated fuel on board, and estimated time of arrival, allowing pilots to select and request clearance via data link communication, reducing the need for oral communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If air traffic controllers manually select and communicate arrival procedures to pilots, then the arrival procedure can be provided to the aircraft, but delays occur and fuel consumption increases due to the time required to process multiple requests in busy airports
Solution Approach 1:
The flight management system automatically retrieves, calculates, and displays multiple arrival procedure options to the pilot without requiring manual ATC intervention for each procedure request. The system self-services by autonomously computing fuel consumption and time of arrival for each procedure and presenting them in priority order, thereby eliminating the time delay associated with ATC processing multiple requests.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary calculations of fuel consumption and time of arrival for multiple arrival procedures before the pilot needs to make a selection. By pre-computing these parameters and displaying procedures in priority order based on the calculated metrics, the system eliminates the need for time-consuming manual ATC processing during the approach phase.
2Adaptability or versatility
If air traffic controllers handle multiple requests simultaneously in busy airports, then all aircraft can receive arrival procedures, but the overhead increases and processing delays occur
Solution Approach 1:
The flight management system autonomously manages the complexity of handling multiple arrival procedure requests by automatically retrieving procedures, calculating performance parameters, and displaying options to the pilot. This transfers the operational complexity from the ATC to the aircraft's own system, allowing ATC to handle multiple requests without increased overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight management system acts as an intermediary between the ATC and the pilot, automatically processing arrival procedure requests and presenting optimized options. This intermediary function reduces the direct interaction burden on ATC while maintaining adaptability to handle multiple simultaneous requests through automated data link communications.
3Reliability
If pilots receive arrival procedures through oral communication with ATC, then the procedure information can be transmitted, but human error and miscommunication risks increase due to different slangs and dialects
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces the mechanical oral communication process with an automated data link communication system. The flight management system electronically retrieves and transmits arrival procedure information along with calculated fuel consumption and time of arrival data, eliminating the need for voice communication and thereby removing the risks of human error, miscommunication, and language barriers.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated data link communication system serves as an intermediary that directly transmits procedure information from the ATC to the flight management system without human voice intervention. This intermediary electronic communication channel ensures accurate transmission of information while maintaining ease of operation through automated display of procedures in priority order.
4Reliability
If pilots wait for ATC to initiate arrival procedures, then the correct procedure can be assigned, but fuel consumption and time loss occur during the waiting period
Solution Approach 1:
The flight management system performs preliminary retrieval and calculation of multiple arrival procedure options before the pilot needs to select one. By pre-computing fuel consumption and time of arrival for each procedure and displaying them in priority order, the system eliminates the waiting period during which the aircraft would otherwise be held, thereby reducing fuel consumption while ensuring correct procedure assignment through automated ATC clearance of the selected procedure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system autonomously manages the arrival procedure selection process by automatically retrieving procedures, calculating performance parameters, displaying options, and transmitting the pilot's selection to ATC via data link. This self-service capability eliminates the need for the aircraft to remain in a hold pattern waiting for ATC initiation, thereby reducing fuel consumption while maintaining reliable procedure assignment.
Data Source
AI summary
A flight management system executes a method for arrival procedure display logic to reduce the overhead of pilots and air traffic controller by displaying a list of available arrival procedures sorted in a priority order based on headwind, estimated fuel on board, and estimated time of arrival. The pilot can select one of the available arrival procedures and request approval of the selected arrival procedure from the air traffic controller. The air traffic controller can clear the pilot for the selected arrival procedure or reject the selected arrival procedure if the selected arrival procedure is unavailable.