The paper provides the definition of a 4D trajectory and their use then briefly follows the history of trajectories, Area Navigation and the past use of 4D Trajectories in automation. The accuracy of modern communication and navigation systems is briefly discussed. As 4D trajectories and area navigation have been in use and researched in detail the paper details some of the lessons learned in past research. The paper highlights the difference between trajectory prediction errors and uncertainty and their effect on safety and efficiency. Datalink is an enabler for accurate 4D trajectory based area navigation. Required Navigational Performance and flown accuracy of the trajectory are discussed together with the connotations for procedures such as Continuous Descent Approaches. 4D trajectories are closed-loop, with complete along trajectory impact. There are changes in concept for both pilots and controllers. The ownership of the trajectory in 4D trajectory based operations is different to that in current systems and this can have unappreciated impact on conflict resolution. The NGATS proposed methods for flight planning using trajectories could transform flow management in ways that have not yet been fully foreseen. However, if these changes are correctly automated they could result in a self-organizing flow management system with reduced controller workload, more ownership of flow control solutions by the aircraft operators and probably reduced delays. A trajectory based system if correctly based on the right abstraction, can be a very simple concept.
4-Dimensional Trajectories and Automation Connotations and Lessons learned from past research
2007-04-01
653813 byte
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
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