Periodic Reporting for period 2 - DYNCAT (Dynamic Configuration Adjustment in the TMA)
Reporting period: 2021-07-01 to 2022-12-31
Approach operations at busy airports are louder and less fuel efficient than they should be. One important reason for this is the lack of on-board support for energy and configuration management during the procedure: Pilots need to configure their aircraft (extend flaps, slats and landing gear) and reduce speed prior to touchdown. Air Traffic Control puts restrictions on the flight profile, however, and weather conditions are often only vaguely known. Finding an optimum configuration sequence under these circumstances is very much dependent on the individual pilots’ skills and their access to important information like the actual wind situation. As noise emission and fuel consumption are directly influenced by aircraft configuration and speed, a deviation from the optimum procedure means unnecessary environmental impact.
Tackling energy and configuration management, DYNCAT's overall objectives were the following:
• DYNCAT highlighted the impact of current approach ATM operations in the Terminal Manoeuvring Area, orTMA, on environmental pollution, cost effectiveness and safety and quantified the potential for environmental impact (noise, CO2 emission) reduction through better communication between ATC and the flight deck.
• DYNCAT set a course for approach flight profiles that are more environmentally friendly, easier to fly and more predictable through novel pilot support functions for configuration management.
• DYNCAT derived measures to be implemented in short term (mainly on-board procedures) and mid-term (mainly new on-board system functionalities), identified the necessary enablers such as new technological functions (supportive tools, data exchange) and regulatory changes to allow improved airborne procedures.
Tackling energy and configuration management, DYNCAT's overall objectives were the following:
• DYNCAT highlighted the impact of current approach ATM operations in the Terminal Manoeuvring Area, orTMA, on environmental pollution, cost effectiveness and safety and quantified the potential for environmental impact (noise, CO2 emission) reduction through better communication between ATC and the flight deck.
• DYNCAT set a course for approach flight profiles that are more environmentally friendly, easier to fly and more predictable through novel pilot support functions for configuration management.
• DYNCAT derived measures to be implemented in short term (mainly on-board procedures) and mid-term (mainly new on-board system functionalities), identified the necessary enablers such as new technological functions (supportive tools, data exchange) and regulatory changes to allow improved airborne procedures.
The DYNCAT project paved the way for more environmentally friendly and more predictable flight profiles in the TMA. The project’s access to all relevant data sources (on-board operational data, ATC instructions, noise measurement data, surrounding traffic and weather information) allowed to evaluate individual approach operations in their full context, exemplarily for the Airbus A320 at Zurich airport. Based on this critical analysis of the state of the art, highlighting the mismatch of aircraft and air traffic control procedures, improvements to on-board and ground operations were proposed. An operational concept was developed to support pilots and controllers through extended information exchange, thus increasing predictability of the lateral and vertical flight profiles for both sides. A central component is a novel airborne energy management assistance system including a configuration management functionality, comprising DYNCAT’s SESAR Solution and implemented through an extension of the Flight Management System (FMS) capabilities.
Piloted simulator trials on a fixed-base test bench were performed to evaluate the Solution’s effects not only on fuel burn and noise exposure levels but also on pilots’ workload and situational awareness. The present partial and initial implementation of the function for the Airbus A320 family shows significant ecological and economical potential while increasing predictability and supporting safety of the approaches. The technical evaluation is complemented by an extensive set of recommendations and an outlined roadmap for the implementation of DYNCAT in an operational environment.
The findings of the critical analysis, the developed concept and the positive evaluation of the new functionality have been extensively communicated to experts and the general public alike. Besides the project’s website www.dyncat.eu that provides all public deliverables, particpants' websites and social media channels promote the project to all interested parties. Six SESAR e-News articles and articles in corporate magazines addressed the ATM and pilot community. The project approach and results were disseminated at conferences such as SESAR Digital Academy, German Aerospace Congress (DLRK), International Conference on Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS), Towards Sustainable Aviation Summit (TSAS) and SESAR Innovation Days (SID) and in several journal papers. Three stakeholder workshops have taken place supporting concept development and system design, a final dissemination workshop for the expert public and press, and many targeted activities to potential customers, working groups, standardisation bodies and regulators.
Networking with other projects is an ongoing activity; the exchange between DYNCAT and PJ.01 will be further intensified in a successor industrial research activity to accelerate the cooperation and ensure continuation of the DYNCAT approach in SESAR 3. The findings from DYNCAT are also fed into the SESAR JU very large-scale demonstration, ALBATROSS, which is showcasing available solutions to make flying more energy efficient.
Piloted simulator trials on a fixed-base test bench were performed to evaluate the Solution’s effects not only on fuel burn and noise exposure levels but also on pilots’ workload and situational awareness. The present partial and initial implementation of the function for the Airbus A320 family shows significant ecological and economical potential while increasing predictability and supporting safety of the approaches. The technical evaluation is complemented by an extensive set of recommendations and an outlined roadmap for the implementation of DYNCAT in an operational environment.
The findings of the critical analysis, the developed concept and the positive evaluation of the new functionality have been extensively communicated to experts and the general public alike. Besides the project’s website www.dyncat.eu that provides all public deliverables, particpants' websites and social media channels promote the project to all interested parties. Six SESAR e-News articles and articles in corporate magazines addressed the ATM and pilot community. The project approach and results were disseminated at conferences such as SESAR Digital Academy, German Aerospace Congress (DLRK), International Conference on Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS), Towards Sustainable Aviation Summit (TSAS) and SESAR Innovation Days (SID) and in several journal papers. Three stakeholder workshops have taken place supporting concept development and system design, a final dissemination workshop for the expert public and press, and many targeted activities to potential customers, working groups, standardisation bodies and regulators.
Networking with other projects is an ongoing activity; the exchange between DYNCAT and PJ.01 will be further intensified in a successor industrial research activity to accelerate the cooperation and ensure continuation of the DYNCAT approach in SESAR 3. The findings from DYNCAT are also fed into the SESAR JU very large-scale demonstration, ALBATROSS, which is showcasing available solutions to make flying more energy efficient.
For the first time DYNCAT has assembled all necessary data from all sources and actors to be able to paint the complete picture of approach operations. Many effects have been observed in the past but only with these invaluable data sets the interdependencies and limitations could be fully understood. Consequently, DYNCAT has identified the potential for improvement and conducted a validation exercise for the new operational concept in piloted real-time simulation. An early prototype / experimental Flight Management System functionality to support the flight crew in configuration management in view of ATC restrictions present and the actual weather / wind situation, which inevitably deviates from the predictions used for initial planning, was established in an industrial test environment.
The high fidelity of the test environment allowed DYNCAT to quantify the potential for environmental impact (noise, CO2 emission) reduction through the developed pilot support functions and to measure the obtainable improvements on flights predictability and flyability (pilot workload, safety) so as to ensure benefits to ATM operations on top of the environmental benefits.
The project evaluated the proposed functionality in hands-on workshops with airline pilots and air traffic controllers. The identified improvements were complemented with an analysis of the necessary short-term (mainly operational both on ground and on board) and mid-term measures for implementation, delivering a report on the necessary enablers such as new technological functions (supportive tools, data exchange) and regulatory changes to allow the improved flight procedures.
The DYNCAT project contributed to:
• enhance the understanding of how the environmental impact of the ATM operations can be reduced during the approach flight phase, in TMAs
• improve the knowledge base on ATC – FMS interaction, paving the way for further research and development work and industrial implementation ensuring industrial leadership
• enhance flights efficiency by integrating up-to-date meteorological information and air traffic controllers' instructions into a decision-support tool that will improve situation awareness.
The high fidelity of the test environment allowed DYNCAT to quantify the potential for environmental impact (noise, CO2 emission) reduction through the developed pilot support functions and to measure the obtainable improvements on flights predictability and flyability (pilot workload, safety) so as to ensure benefits to ATM operations on top of the environmental benefits.
The project evaluated the proposed functionality in hands-on workshops with airline pilots and air traffic controllers. The identified improvements were complemented with an analysis of the necessary short-term (mainly operational both on ground and on board) and mid-term measures for implementation, delivering a report on the necessary enablers such as new technological functions (supportive tools, data exchange) and regulatory changes to allow the improved flight procedures.
The DYNCAT project contributed to:
• enhance the understanding of how the environmental impact of the ATM operations can be reduced during the approach flight phase, in TMAs
• improve the knowledge base on ATC – FMS interaction, paving the way for further research and development work and industrial implementation ensuring industrial leadership
• enhance flights efficiency by integrating up-to-date meteorological information and air traffic controllers' instructions into a decision-support tool that will improve situation awareness.