Procedural Feasibility of Reduced Spacing under Wake Vortex Avoidance System (WVAS) Operation, with Applications to Atlanta and O'Hare

摘要

A Wake Vortex Avoidance System (WVAS) may provide increased airport capacity by allowing for reduced aircraft separation standards on final approach under certain meteorological conditions. Three sets of reduced separation standards have been hypothesized in order to describe the operational characteristics of potential WVAS systems. Analyses develop several operational schemes which allow aircraft to transition to reduced separation standards when under WVAS coverage, while maintaining larger terminal area standards prior to intercepting that coverage. Specific applications of these schemes to Atlanta Hartsfield and Chicago O'Hare International Airports are also described. Other analyses investigate procedures for and dynamics of transitioning between different sets of separation standards. Capacity benefits corresponding to the utilization of the different sets of separation standards, under various operational procedures, are estimated for Chicago and Atlanta. (Author)