Optimal Aircraft Path Planning Considering Wind Uncertainty

Abstract

The optimization of the aircraft route taking into account wind uncertainty is addressed in this work. The wind uncertainty is obtained from ensemble weather forecasts. A structured airspace is considered, which is defined by a set of waypoints and a set of allowed connections between each pair of waypoints. The analysis is focused on a cruise flight composed of several segments connecting certain waypoints. The optimal route is seen as a path in a graph; therefore, it is obtained by applying a Dijkstra algorithm, following a stochastic approach. Results are presented for a model of B767-300 aircraft, for a given trans-oceanic route, considering a real ensemble weather forecast, and with the objective of minimizing the average total fuel consumption.