Feasibility study on fixed flight-path angle descent for wide-body passenger aircraft
Feasibility study on fixed flight-path angle descent for wide-body passenger aircraft
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宽体客机固定航迹角下降的可行性研究
DOI：
10.1007/s13272-018-0337-9
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发表时间：
2018
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
S. Fukushima
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
E. Itoh;N. K. Wickramasinghe;H. Hirabayashi;S. Fukushima
这项研究建议使用固定飞行路径角(FPA)下降作为生态友好型空中交通操作的潜在替代方案。此外，考虑到拟议的下降程序遵循固定的指定飞行路线角度，飞机以近乎空转的推力不断向跑道门槛下降，空中交通管制员应该更容易预测轨迹。因此，拟议的方法预计将大大有助于降低空中交通燃料消耗，同时促进空中交通管制员维持并发交通之间所需的时间间隔的任务。此外，FPA下降不需要对当前地面系统和/或机载航空电子设备的基本部件进行任何改造。本文阐述了B777-200和B787-8宽体喷气式客机采用固定航道角下降的可行性，并展望了其在近期运营中的实施情况。在一系列旨在评估拟议下降方法的实验中，总共进行了30次试验，考虑了日本两大国际机场-东京和关西国际机场-使用一家国家航空公司的B777-200和B787-800全飞行模拟器的情况。讨论了飞行员的程序、驾驶舱的可操作性、指定的垂直路径跟踪性能以及与拟议的FPA下降相关的燃油效率，并与传统的到达操作进行了比较。分析结果表明，在假定的运行环境下，固定航迹角下降对于大型喷气式飞机是可行的，并与速度控制相结合，有可能在未来的空中交通管理操作中产生更好的节能效果。
This study proposes the use of fixed flight-path angle (FPA) descent as a potential alternative for eco-friendly air traffic operations. Additionally, given that the proposed descent procedure follows a fixed, assigned flight-path angle, with the aircraft continuously descending toward the runway threshold with near-idle thrust, the trajectory should be more predictable for air-traffic controllers. As such, the proposed approach is expected to contribute significantly toward decreasing the air traffic fuel consumption, while simultaneously facilitating the air traffic controllers’ task of maintaining the required time spacing between concurrent traffic. Furthermore, FPA descent does not require any retrofits in the fundamental components of current ground systems and/or onboard avionics. This paper clarifies the feasibility of fixed flight-path angle descent for B777-200 and B787-8 wide-body jet passenger aircraft, envisaging its implementation in near-term operations. A total of 30 trials were carried out in a series of experiments designed to evaluate the proposed descent method, considering arrivals at two major international airports in Japan—the Tokyo and Kansai International Airports—using B777-200 and B787-800 full flight simulators of a national airline. The pilots’ procedures, cockpit operability, assigned vertical path tracking performance, and fuel efficiency associated with the proposed FPA descent are discussed and compared with those of conventional arrival operations. The analysis results indicate that the fixed flight-path angle descent is feasible for large-sized jet aircraft within the assumed operational environment, and that its combined use with speed control has the potential to result in even better energy-saving performance in future air traffic management operations.