Abstract
The problem of unpowered descents of commercial transport aircraft is analyzed. The procedure is optimized (maximizing range) using the theory of singular optimal control. The optimal control is of the bang-singular-bang type, and the optimal trajectories are formed by a singular arc and two minimum/maximum-path-angle arcs joining the singular arc with the given initial and final points. The optimal trajectories and controls, the maximum range and the flight time are computed using an efficient numerical procedure. The influence of the aircraft weight on the results is analyzed. Comparison with a standard descent at constant calibrated air speed (CAS) is made. Results are presented for a model of a Boeing 767-300ER, and show that the optimized constant-CAS descent is very close to optimal.
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