Estimation of Vehicle-Level Fuel Burn Benefits of Aircraft Formation Flight

Liu, Yaolong; Stumpf, Eike

doi:10.2514/1.c034296

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Over the past two decades, a variety of numerical and experimental studies that have been carried out clearly reveal the potential of extended formation flight in considerably reducing fuel costs of long-haul commercial airline operations [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Although within an "extended" flight formation, the participating aircraft are relatively widely spaced in a longitudinal sense (i.e., 5-40 wingspans), trailing aircraft can still attain a significant reduction in induced drag by flying in the upwash of the lead aircraft's wake, provided they are able to maintain the "sweet spot"-i.e., the most optimal (lateral and vertical) location relative to the lead aircraft.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to aerodynamic performance prediction, there are several other key areas on which previous research on (extended) formation flight has focused. Significant research has, e.g., been devoted to the development of station keeping autopilots that enable formations to stay in the optimal position (the "sweet spot") relative to each other [6]. Another key area relates to the planning and organization of flight formations on a network-wide scale [14][15][16][17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Trajectory Optimization of Extended Formation Flights for Commercial Aviation

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper presents a trajectory optimization study that has been conducted using a recently developed tool for the synthesis and analysis of extended flight formations of long-haul commercial aircraft, with the aim to minimize overall fuel consumption. In extended flight formations, trailing aircraft can attain an appreciable reduction in induced drag and associated reduction in fuel burn by flying in the upwash of the lead aircraft’s wake. In the present study, a previously developed multi-phase optimal control (MOC) framework for the synthesis of two-ship flight formations has been extended to include the assembly of three-ship flight formations. Using the extended tool, various numerical experiments have been conducted in relation to the assembly of two-ship and three-ship flight formations in long-haul operations across the North-Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, numerical experiments have been carried out to examine the impact of wind fields on the synthesis and performance of flight formations. Additionally, a parametric investigation has been conducted to assess the sensitivity of the solutions with respect to the degree of the induced drag reduction that might be attained by the trailing aircraft in a formation. The results of the various numerical experiments reveal that formation flight can result in appreciable reductions in fuel burn in comparison to flying solo—particularly when larger formation strings are permitted.

show abstract