Optimality of Standard Flight Procedures of Commercial Aircraft

Description

Standard flight procedures for climb, cruise and descent, commonly flown by commercial aircraft, are analyzed, and the optimality of their performance is assessed by comparison with the perfor- mance of optimal trajectories, which are computed using the theory of singular optimal control. Three flight procedures are studied: CAS/Mach climb, constant-Mach cruise with fixed arrival time, and constant-CAS unpowered descent. The optimality criteria selected are minimum fuel consumption for climb and cruise, and maximum horizontal distance travelled for descent. Results are presented for a model of a Boeing 767-300ER

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