Flight Management System Research Articles

EFFECT OF AN IN-FLIGHT VERTICAL ACCELEROMETER CALIBRATION ON LANDING ACCURACY AFTER BARO-INERTIAL SYSTEM FAILURE

An issue of improving flight safety during landing with an inertial navigation system (INS) and a failed barometric altimeter is considered. In this paper, we propose a specific algorithm for in-flight calibration of the vertical channel of INS. Accordingly, the baro-inertial integration algorithm using a discrete five-state Kalman filter will be performed during a particular flight maneuver before landing. As a result, it is possible to estimate not only the bias of vertical accelerometer but also its scale factor, which is too small to be defined by a usual in-flight calibration algorithm. After applying the proposed algorithm, the flight management system can provide a safe landing with a standalone INS. The algorithm’s performance is assessed by simulating complete mathematical models of aircraft motion and control systems. The impact of calibrated bias and scale factor of vertical accelerometer on the altitude estimation error is provided through an analysis.

Guide on how to adapt air transport to international transport of passengers in the time of COVID-19

The article presents the current state of knowledge about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 disease in such a way as to provide the basis for the modernization of the flight and airport management system in such a way as to maximally protect passengers and crew from infection and transport of sick people from one country to another.

Architecture of a microservice-based flight management system simulation

Architecture of a microservice-based flight management system simulation

Overview of Integrated Vehicle Management System

Under the modern high-tech condition, the demand of air combat has been stricter on the combat performance and the integration of fighter, which impels the application of integrated vehicle management technology and makes it become the core technology of the advanced fighter about the mission management and vehicle management. From an overview of tactical flight management system's technical background and the state of development, this paper systematically introduces the issues, including the development process & history, architecture framework of the integrated vehicle management system (IVMS) which divided into perception layers, decision layer and execution layer, and function system architecture and software system architecture. Through a comprehensive analysis for the functions of each level, comprehensively expounds the basic function and key technology of IVMS which included situation awareness and assessment, mission path planning, integrated navigation, automatic attack guidance, health management and prognostic and intelligent pilot-vehicle interface, and the future development directions are also discussed.

Raising Flight Crew Aircraft Energy Awareness Through High-Energy-Limit Trajectories

The increased number of daily flights in the last decades has led to the densification of major airports and the proliferation of air traffic delays. The approach phase is inherently complex and labor extensive for flight crews, whose mission is to follow a stabilized approach. Current flight management systems do not provide much help in situations of high energy, where crews apply challenging energy management techniques to land in the destination runway. Go-around procedures shall be initiated as soon as the aircraft is not at the correct energy condition at the stabilization gate, despite the increase of workload this type of operation induces for crews and air traffic controllers. The continuation of a nonstabilized approach may put at peril the safety of flight. This paper presents an algorithm that computes the trajectory that stabilizes the aircraft in the minimum distance, which is also known as the high-energy-limit trajectory. The provision of this trajectory contributes to raising flight crew awareness of the aircraft energy state, and it informs that stabilization is not possible by giving the minimum distance to follow a stabilized approach. Flight simulator results helped to assess the operational concept and improve the representativeness of real flight operations. The calculation of the trajectory on a real-time basis provides flight crews with useful information of the aircraft energy condition, which improves flight safety and may ultimately reduce the number of nonstabilized approaches and go-around procedures.

New Methodology for Aircraft Performance Model Identification for Flight Management System Applications

This paper presents the validation results of a study conducted at the Laboratory of Applied Research in Actives Controls, Avionics, and Aeroservoelasticity to develop a modeling technique for determining a performance model of a particular aircraft using a limited amount of data. This technique was applied to the well-known business jet aircraft, Cessna Citation X. All the reference data used to design the model were generated using an in-house in-flight performance program. These data were subsequently combined with simplified flight mechanics equations in order to estimate various performance and aero-propulsive characteristics of the aircraft. An original identification algorithm was next developed in order to determine a mathematical model describing the fuel flow, as well as the aircraft thrust and drag aerodynamic coefficients. Validation of the study was accomplished by comparing trajectory data predicted by the model with trajectory data measured with a research aircraft flight simulator (RAFS) of the Cessna Citation X. The results show a very good agreement for the flight time, the ground distance traveled, and fuel consumption.

Detecting Semantic Bugs in Autopilot Software by Classifying Anomalous Variables

Like any software, manned-aircraft flight management systems and unmanned aerial system autopilots contain bugs. A large portion of bugs in autopilots are semantic bugs, where the autopilot does not behave according to the expectations of the programmer. A bug detector is constructed to detect semantic bugs for autopilot software. It is hypothesized that semantic bugs can be detected by monitoring a set of relevant variables internal to the autopilot. This paper formulates the problem of identifying these variables as an optimization problem aimed at minimizing the overhead for online bug detection. However, because the optimization problem is computationally prohibitive to solve directly, graph-based software models are used to identify a suboptimal solution. In analyzing real and injected bugs within a particular block of code (a program slice), our proof-of-concept approach resulted in a model using only 20% of the variables in the slice to detect real and synthetic bugs with a specificity of 95% and a sensitivity of at least 60% for all bugs tested (and 90% or higher for many of them).

Ontology Construction and Evaluation of UAV FCMS Software Requirement Elicitation Considering Geographic Environment Factors

The quality of unmanned aerial vehicle flight control and management system (UAV FCMS) software is crucial to guaranteeing the quality of UAVs. Software requirement elicitation (SRE) is an important part of the UAV FCMS software development process. However, this activity suffers from ambiguity, heterogeneity and incompleteness; furthermore, because the use of UAVs is closely related to their geographic environment, geographic environment factors must be fully considered when conducting UAV FCMS SRE activity. In the knowledge engineering community, an ontology is an explicit specification of a conceptualization. Introducing the ontology method into the SRE process is an effective way to solve the above problems. This paper creates a UAV FCMS SRE ontology (SREO) based on domain knowledge and empirical data, as well as a geo-ontology based on geographic information metadata. Then, the paper integrates the above two ontologies into a new ontology. The goal of ontology integration is to analyze ontology concepts by adopting a hybrid ontology mapping method. The specific process analyzes the semantic similarities between the concepts of two ontologies and then decides whether to use a description logic (DL) strategy based on the analysis results. When the corresponding conditions are satisfied, the DL strategy is used to perform both direct and transitive reasoning for the relationships to achieve the ontology mapping, and the ontology integration is eventually implemented. Finally, this paper uses a criteria-based ontology evaluation approach to evaluate the quality of the newly integrated ontology. The evaluation results show that the UAV FCMS SREO considering geographic environment factors exhibits high quality. Further engineering practices also show that the SRE activities and the generated software requirement specifications (SRSs) exhibit a large increase in quality. Through the above activities, improvements to both the quality and reliability of UAV FCMS software can be achieved.

Future Trend of Flight Management System considering Coordination between Aerial Drone and Manned Aircraft

Future Trend of Flight Management System considering Coordination between Aerial Drone and Manned Aircraft

New Adaptive Algorithm Development for Monitoring Aircraft Performance and Improving Flight Management System Predictions

To compute the most efficient route that the aircraft has to fly, the flight management system (FMS) needs a mathematical representation of the aircraft performance. However, after several years of operation, various factors can degrade the overall performance of the aircraft. Such degradation can affect the reliability of the aircraft model, and the crew would lose confidence in the fuel planning estimated by the FMS. This paper presents the results of a study in which a new adaptive algorithm is proposed for continuously updating the FMS performance model using cruise flight data. The proposed algorithm combines aircraft performance monitoring techniques with adaptive lookup tables to model the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft. The methodology was applied to the well-known Cessna Citation X business aircraft, for which a research aircraft flight simulator was available. The development of this methodology was accomplished by creating an initial performance model, adapting it using flight data in cruise, and finally comparing its prediction with a series of flight data collected with the flight simulator. Results have shown that the proposed methodology was able to reduce fuel flow prediction mean errors by about 5%, whereas the standard deviation was reduced by a factor of 3.4.

A review of accidents & incidents on Boeing and Airbus commercial aircraft’s avionics-related system in two decades (1996-2015)

Aviation accidents still hit the news even though the growth of technological advancement on commercial aircraft avionic systems has been impressive. Hence, one of the objectives of this study is to plot the time-based graph of commercial aviation accidents, with direct consequence from avionics instrumentations in the period of two decades, from 1996 to 2015. The second objective is to analyse two main aircraft manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus, in determining specific model of its kind that significantly involved in avionics-related instrumentation as one of the contributing factors that leads to the incidents or accidents. The third objective is to identify which avionics system that most frequently involved in aviation incidents, for both manufacturers. The final objective is to examine the main probable cause that has the highest percentage in those accidents within the said time frame. The method of collecting data is by doing comparative analysis from reliable official websites of four well-known bodies such as National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Aviation Safety Network and Flight Safety Foundation. Results show that misfortune occurrences are directly associated with avionics within the said two decades, which mainly involved Autopilot and Flight Management System (FMS) (14% each), meanwhile the aircraft model Boeing 737 carries the highest percentage of avionics-related incidents or accidents. Nonetheless, 67% of the misfortune occurrences within the scope of study are mainly due to human error instead of technology.

Research on modernization directions of the human-machine interface of flight management system for future civil aircrafts

The article proposed the description of the developed human-machine interface of the flight management system for future civil aircraft. The directions of development, existing solutions and also technical documentation requirements for this type of interface are analyzed. A number of solutions are proposed that implement new ways of presenting information and provide for intuitive and reliable interaction with a crew.

Development of Smart Aircraft Logbook Based on IoT

This project is to develop a system that can integrate between user input and data reference stored in a cloud database. The user input is referring to the post-flight report regarding aircraft status retrieved from the Flight Management System (FMS). The data will be crosschecked subject to the reference manual which is the Master Minimum Equipment List (MMEL) and o Minimum Equipment List (MEL) that have been kept in a cloud database. This system is constructed to reduce time and response time for the post-flight check. Research exploratory had been carried out using the interview method, to obtain the information regarding the application and implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the aviation industry. System reference is extracted into the cloud database. Next, the software is developed so that the user can have interaction with this system. From all the fragments from the input and data reference, this system is recommended a fast solution to determine the aircraft status; whether it is safe to fly or to be grounded for maintenance purposes. Through this methodology and IoT concept, it is believed that this system may be a beneficial idea and effort to fit the aviation industry's needs towards the rise of the Industrial Revolution 4.0.

A socio-technical analysis of functional properties in a joint cognitive system: a case study in an aircraft cockpit

In a socio-technical work domain, humans, device interfaces and artefacts all affect transformations of information flow. Such transformations, which may involve a change of auditory to visual information & vice versa or alter semantic approximations into spatial proximities from instruments readings, are generally not restricted to solely human cognition. This paper applies a joint cognitive system approach to explore a socio-technical system. A systems ergonomics perspective is achieved by applying a multi-layered division to transformations of information between, and within, human and technical agents. The approach uses the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM), but abandons the traditional boundary between medium and agent in favour of accepting aircraft systems and artefacts as agents, with their own functional properties and relationships. The joint cognitive system perspective in developing the FRAM model allows an understanding of the effects of task and information propagation, and eventual distributed criticalities, taking advantage of the functional properties of the system, as described in a case study related to the cockpit environment of a DC-9 aircraft. Practitioner Summary: This research presents the application of one systemic method to understand work systems and performance variability in relation to the transformation of information within a flight deck for a specific phase of flight. By using a joint cognitive systems approach both retrospective and prospective investigation of cockpit challenges will be better understood. Abbreviations: ATC: air traffic control; ATCO: air traffic controller; ATM: air traffic management; CSE: cognitive systems engineering; DSA: distributed situation awareness; FMS: flight management system; FMV: FRAM model visualize; FRAM: functional resonance analysis method; GF: generalised function; GW: gross weight; HFACS: human factors analysis and classification system; JCS: joint cognitive systems; PF: pilot flying; PNF: pilot not flying; SA: situation awareness; SME: subject matter expert; STAMP: systems theoretic accident model and processes; VBA: visual basic for applications; WAD: work-as-done; WAI: work-as-imagined; ZFW: zero fuel weight

Touchscreens for Aircraft Navigation Tasks: Comparing Accuracy and Throughput of Three Flight Deck Interfaces Using Fitts' Law.

ObjectiveUse Fitts’ law to compare accuracy and throughput of three flight deck interfaces for navigation.BackgroundIndustry is proposing touch-based solutions to modernize the flight management system. However, research evaluating touchscreen effectiveness for navigation tasks in terms of accuracy and throughput on the flight deck is lacking.MethodAn experiment was conducted with 14 participants in a flight simulator, aimed at creating Fitts’ law accuracy and throughput models of three different flight deck interfaces used for navigation: the mode control panel, control display unit, and a touch-based navigation display. The former two constitute the conventional interface between the pilot and the flight management system, and the latter represents the industry-proposed solution for the future.ResultsResults indicate less accurate performance with the touchscreen navigation display compared to the other two interfaces and the throughput was lowest with the mode control panel. The control display unit was better in both accuracy and throughput, which is found to be largely attributed to the tactile and physical nature of the interface.ConclusionAlthough performance in terms of accuracy and throughput was better with the control display unit, a question remains whether, when used during a more realistic navigation task, performance is still better compared to a touch-based interface.ApplicationThis paper complements previous studies in the usage of aircraft touchscreens with new empirical insights into their accuracy and throughput, compared to conventional flight deck interfaces, using Fitts’ law.

Vertical flight profile optimization for a cruise segment with RTA constraints

ABSTRACTThis paper presents the results of a research performed at the Research Laboratory in Active Controls, Avionics and Aeroservoelasticty (LARCASE), at ÉTS, concerning optimisation strategies for cruise flight segments with imposed flight time (delimited by waypoints with required time of arrival constraints). Specifically, a new algorithm is presented that identifies the optimal vertical navigation profile (flight altitude and speed optimisation) for a cruise segment with imposed lateral navigation profile, bounded by two waypoints with required time of arrival constraints. The set of evaluated vertical navigation profiles are characterised by identical altitudes and speeds at their initial and final waypoints (at the beginning and the end of the cruise segment under optimisation), a maximum of one altitude step (relative to the initial altitude), and are flown at constant speed. This study investigates the flight performance increase (total cost reduction) for a flight along the optimal vertical navigation profile, relative to a flight at the optimal speed and initial cruise altitude. The evaluation was performed using a medium haul transport aircraft flight performance model, for three lateral navigation profiles and three wind profiles. The algorithm is targeted for Flight Management Systems platforms, to provide the optimal flight trajectory for the imposed lateral flight profile and time constraints.

Phoning home, with lasers: Optical communications will provide a high-speed connection to Earth

WITH NASA MAKING serious moves toward a permanent return to the moon, it's natural to wonder whether human settlers-accustomed to high-speed, ubiquitous Internet access—will have to deal with mind-numbingly slow connections once they arrive on the lunar surface. The vast majority of today's satellites and spacecraft have data rates measured in kilobits per second. But long-term lunar residents might not be as satisfied with the skinny bandwidth that, say, the Apollo astronauts contended with. • To meet the demands of highdefinition video and data-intensive scientific research, NASA and other space agencies are pushing the radio bands traditionally allocated for space research to their limits. For example, the Orion which will carry astronauts around the moon during NASA's Artemis 2 mission in 2022, will transmit mission-critical information to Earth via an S-band radio at 50 megabits per second. It's the most complex flight-management system ever flown on a spacecraft, says Jim Schier, the chief architect for NASA's Space Communications and Navigation program. Still, barely 1 Mb/s will be allocated for streaming video from the mission. That's about one-fifth the speed needed to stream a high-definition movie from Netflix. • To boost data rates even higher means moving beyond radio and developing optical communications systems that use lasers to beam data across space. In addition to its S-band radio, Orion will carry a laser communications system for sending ultrahigh-definition 4K video back to Earth. And further out, NASA's Gateway will create a long-term laser communications hub linking our planet and its satellite.

Identification and Validation of an Engine Performance Database Model for the Flight Management System

This Paper presents the validation studies results of an engine mathematical performance model identification for flight management system trajectory prediction and optimization applications. The methodology was applied to the Cessna Citation X business aircraft, for which the aircraft flight manual and the flight crew operating manual are available. In addition, another data source based on computerized trajectory was also used to generate several climb and descent flight profiles required in the engine model identification process. To demonstrate and further validate the accuracy of the proposed engine performance model, a level-D research aircraft flight simulator of the Cessna Citation X was used as a reference. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA, AC 120-40B), level D corresponds to the highest qualification level for the flight dynamics and engine modeling. Validation of the methodology was accomplished by comparing the prediction model with a series of flight data collected with the flight simulator for different flight conditions and different flight phases including takeoff, climb, cruise, and idle descent. Comparison results were validated with a tolerance of for each engine performance predicted by the model in terms of fan speed, core speed, thrust, and fuel flow.

Analysis of Speed Prediction Error on Oceanic Flights

The accuracy of speed prediction error to the next waypoint is a key factor in maintaining longitudinal separation on oceanic routes. This estimation is often used by air traffic control to estimate the future position of aircraft, and the estimation errors result in potential separation infringement. While most aircraft can calculate the estimated time at each future waypoint using the onboard Flight Management System, the factors affecting the inaccuracy of the estimation require more clarification. This paper investigates the accuracy of the speed prediction error on oceanic routes and examines the main factor of error using airline flight data. The results show that wind prediction error is a main source of speed prediction error, and significant differences of the speed prediction error among airlines and aircraft types were observed.

New Approach in Integrated Basin Modelling: Melen Airborne LIDAR

Airborne LIDAR technology which has an increasing importance in recent years, has entered into the field of application of many disciplines by obtaining fast and highly accurate 3D data. It provides precise topography information with dense point cloud data as well as all details on the surface. Thus, it has become useful in all disciplines associated with space such as cartography, construction, city planning, forest, energy, hydrology, geology, transportation, telecommunications, security, disaster, aviation, and infrastructure. By mounting LIDAR measurement units on aircraft large areas can be measured relatively quickly and cost-effectively. In this study, Riegl Q680i scanner and CCNS5 flight management system were mounted to the aircraft. The digital elevation models; DEM (Digital Elevation Model) and DSM (Digital Surface Model) of the Melen basin, which is located within the boundaries of Düzce and Sakarya was generated using LIDAR point cloud data (.las format) with a point density of 16 points/m2 and also 1/1000 base maps of the basin were produced. In addition, many details such as road, slope, culvert, electricity poles were drawn in accordance with the principles of large-scale map construction regulations and transferred to GIS environment. The Melen basin with an important water storage area, boundaries, basin model, water collection lines, determination of flow directions and connections, the topographic surface of the basin sub-areas, morphology were created using 3D laser point cloud data. So, the digital terrain model of the basin in GIS environment is visualized with linear maps. LIDAR data provides 3D geometric and morphological information that cannot be obtained according to classical methods in this kind of engineering studies. Results suggest that the higher spatial resolution LIDAR-derived data are preferable and can introduce more detailed information about basin hydro geomorphic behaviours.