Neighboring Optimal Aircraft Guidance in a General Wind Environment

摘要

Method and system for determining an optimal route for an aircraft moving between first and second waypoints in a general wind environment. A selected first wind environment is analyzed for which a nominal solution can be determined. A second wind environment is then incorporated; and a neighboring optimal control (NOC) analysis is performed to estimate an optimal route for the second wind environment. In particular examples with flight distances of 2500 and 6000 nautical miles in the presence of constant or piecewise linearly varying winds, the difference in flight time between a nominal solution and an optimal solution is 3.4 to 5 percent. Constant or variable winds and aircraft speeds can be used. Updated second wind environment information can be provided and used to obtain an updated optimal route.