Estimating fuel consumption from radar tracks: a validation exercise using FDR and radar tracks from descent trajectories

Abstract

Fuel consumption is one of the major considerations for both the impact of aviation in the environment and the cost of operations. This paper assesses the accuracy of a method capable of producing aircraft fuel estimates based on their 4D trajectory and the weather forecast. Fuel consumption estimates generated for 2448 descents are compared with the flight data recorder (FDR) values provided by the airline. Fuel consumption is estimated by taking the 4D trajectory from two different sources: the FDR system itself and surveillance radar tracks. In both cases, the Base of Aircraft Data (BADA) and a model that fits manufacturers' performance data to polynomial functions are used to represent aircraft performance. Results obtained with the later show that fuel usage could be estimated with an accuracy of 16 kg (4.8%) by using the 4D trajectory as reported by the FDR system and 28 kg (7.8%) by using surveillance radar observations. It is also observed that the BADA 3.6 model underestimates the fuel consumption, illustrating the need for an improved performance model in the terminal manoeuvring area.

Fuel Burn Method Assessment Using Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast and European Reanalysis Data: Limited Flight Sample Analysis

“…The relatively large errors during clean descent are primarily because of the BADA 3 modeling of idle fuel flow as a function of altitude only, outlined by Wickramasinghe et al in [18]. During descent with a clean configuration, the calculated fuel burn is higher than the true one, which was also reported by Dalmau et al in [8]. The mean error of fuel burn during clean descent in [8] was calculated from 2448 4D tracks from the FDR.…”

“…The method from [6,7] was used to validate the possibility of fuel consumption calculation using track data in [8]. Dalmau et al [8] used 2248 commercial flights of Airbus-type aircraft from top of descent (ToD) to 5000 ft above ground level (AGL) to avoid problems with unknown configurations. The configuration was assumed to be clean.…”

“…The initial mass was used as known data. Dalmau et al [8] also used the BADA performance model and the aircraft performance model obtained from the performance engineer's program (PEP) made available by the aircraft manufacturer. The authors used data filtering techniques to lower the noise due to the numerical derivation of aircraft states.…”

“…A similar methodology to [8] was used by Harada et al [9] with the purpose of accurate evaluation of the BADA model. Harada et al [9] used FDR data to estimate fuel consumption in clean configuration flight phases, climb, cruise, and descent.…”

Enhanced Demand and Capacity Balancing based on Alternative Trajectory Options and Traffic Volume Hotspot Detection

“…Those parameters are estimated using the initial trajectories and a model that relies on the aircraft performance models provided by the Base of Aircraft Data (BADA) v4 and needs to set up the aircraft mass at the end of the flights [16]. For the purposes of this paper, such final mass is assumed to be the 90% of the Maximum Landing Weight (MLW).…”