Systems and methods for estimating a fuel level for a flight of an aircraft
A system and a method include a control unit configured to determine drag factors and fuel flow factors for different phases of one or more prior flights of an aircraft, and determine a fuel level for one or more upcoming flights of the aircraft based on the drag factors and the fuel flow factors for the different phases of the one or more prior flights of the aircraft.
1 . A system comprising:
a control unit including one or more processors configured to:
adjust a drag polar of an aircraft for dynamic aeroelastic effects for different phases of one or more prior flights of the aircraft, wherein the aircraft includes a flight management system (FMS), wherein the aircraft is configured to be operated during flight phases including Climb, Cruise, and Descent, and wherein a drag factor is associated is loaded in the FMS and referred to as an associated flight phase (Climb, Cruise, or Descent),
determine a fuel level for one or more upcoming flights of the aircraft based on the drag polar as adjusted for the different phases of the one or more prior flights of the aircraft, drag factors for the different phases of the one or more prior flights of the aircraft, and fuel flow factors for the different phases of the one or more prior flights of the aircraft, and
automatically operate the aircraft during the one or more upcoming flights based on the fuel level determined for the one or more upcoming flights, and
combine the drag factors and the fuel flow factors based on the following:
Δ
W
f
i
=
Δ
d
i
.
(
A
V
G
F
F
A
V
G
G
S
)
·
1
(
1
+
Δ
F
M
)
Δ
FM
=
-
(
DRAFfac
+
FFfac
)
Where
:
Δ
Wfi
=
Fuel
burn
predicted
at
sector
i
Δ
di
=
Distance
computed
in
sector
i
(
in
nm
)
AVGFF
=
Fuel
flow
computed
by
the
FMS
in
the
beginning
of
leg
i
AVGGS
=
Ground
speed
computed
by
the
FMS
in
the
beginning
of
leg
i
Δ
FM
=
Fuel
Mileage
factor
DRAGfac
=
Drag
factor
loaded
in
the
FMS
referred
to
the
associated
flight
phase
(
Climb
,
Cruise
or
Descent
)
FFfac
=
Fuel
flow
factor
loaded
in
the
FMS
referred
to
the
associated
flight
phase
(
Climb
,
Cruise
or
Descent
)
.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further configured to receive flight data for the one or more prior flights of the aircraft, and wherein the flight data includes the drag factors and the fuel flow factors.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the different phases comprise a climb phase, a cruise phase, and a descent phase.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the aircraft comprises a central fuel tank and one or more wing fuel tanks.
5 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a user interface including a display and an input device, wherein the control unit is in communication with the user interface, and wherein the control unit is further configured to show configurable factors settings on the display.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the drag polar is a relationship between drag on the aircraft and a coefficient of lift, angle-of-attack, and speed of the aircraft.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is onboard the aircraft.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the aircraft is configured to be operated during an entire flight according to a flight plan, wherein the control unit is further configured to estimate the fuel level for the aircraft before the one or more upcoming flights based on the following:
Total Fuel Burnt in the entire flight will be therefore:
W
f
=
∑
i
N
Δ
Wf
i
Where
:
N
is
the
total
number
of
legs
in
the
flight
pla
n
.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is an artificial intelligence or machine learning system.
10 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising the aircraft.
11 . A method comprising:
adjusting, by a control unit including one or more processors, a drag polar of an aircraft for dynamic aeroelastic effects for different phases of one or more prior flights of the aircraft, wherein the aircraft includes a flight management system (FMS), wherein the aircraft is configured to be operated during flight phases including Climb, Cruise, and Descent, and wherein a drag factor is loaded in the FMS and referred to as an associated flight phase (Climb, Cruise, or Descent);
determining, by the control unit, a fuel level for one or more upcoming flights of the aircraft based on the drag polar as adjusted for the different phases of the one or more prior flights of the aircraft, drag factors for the different phases of the one or more prior flights of the aircraft, and fuel flow factors for the different phases of the one or more prior flights of the aircraft;
automatically operating the aircraft during the one or more upcoming flights based on the fuel level determined for the one or more upcoming flights; and
combine the drag factors and the fuel flow factors based on the following:
Δ
W
f
i
=
Δ
d
i
.
(
A
V
G
F
F
A
V
G
G
S
)
·
1
(
1
+
Δ
F
M
)
Δ
FM
=
-
(
DRAFfac
+
FFfac
)
Where
:
Δ
Wfi
=
Fuel
burn
predicted
at
sector
i
Δ
di
=
Distance
computed
in
sector
i
(
in
nm
)
AVGFF
=
Fuel
flow
computed
by
the
FMS
in
the
beginning
of
leg
i
AVGGS
=
Ground
speed
computed
by
the
FMS
in
the
beginning
of
leg
i
Δ
FM
=
Fuel
Mileage
factor
DRAGfac
=
Drag
factor
loaded
in
the
FMS
referred
to
the
associated
flight
phase
(
Climb
,
Cruise
or
Descent
)
FFfac
=
Fuel
flow
factor
loaded
in
the
FMS
referred
to
the
associated
flight
phase
(
Climb
,
Cruise
or
Descent
)
.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the different phases comprise a climb phase, a cruise phase, and a descent phase.
13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the aircraft comprises a central fuel tank and one or more wing fuel tanks.
14 . The method of claim 11 , showing, by the control unit, configurable factors settings on a display of a user interface.
15 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising receiving, by the control unit, flight data for the one or more prior flights of the aircraft, and wherein the flight data includes the drag factors and the fuel flow factors from the flight data.
16 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the control unit is onboard the aircraft.
17 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising estimating the fuel level for the aircraft before the one or more upcoming flights based on the following:
Total Fuel Burnt in the entire flight will be therefore:
W
f
=
∑
i
N
Δ
Wf
i
Where
:
N
is
the
total
number
of
legs
in
the
flight
pla
n
.
18 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the control unit is an artificial intelligence or machine learning system.
19 . A system comprising:
an aircraft including a flight management system (FMS), wherein the aircraft is configured to be operated during flight phases including Climb, Cruise, and Descent, and wherein a drag factor is loaded in the FMS and referred to as an associated flight phase (Climb, Cruise, or Descent);
a user interface including a display and an input device; and
a control unit including one or more processors, wherein the control unit is in communication with the user interface, and wherein the control unit is configured to:
show configurable factors settings on the display,
receive flight data for the one or more prior flights of the aircraft, and wherein the flight data includes drag factors for different phases of one or more prior flights of the aircraft, and fuel flow factors for different phases of one or more prior flights of the aircraft, wherein the different phases comprise a climb phase, a cruise phase, and a descent phase,
adjust a drag polar of the aircraft for dynamic aeroelastic effects for different phases of one or more prior flights of the aircraft, wherein the drag polar is a relationship between drag on the aircraft and a coefficient of lift, angle-of-attack, and speed of the aircraft, and
determine a fuel level for one or more upcoming flights of the aircraft based on the drag polar as adjusted for the different phases of the one or more prior flights of the aircraft, drag factors for the different phases of the one or more prior flights of the aircraft, and fuel flow factors for the different phases of the one or more prior flights of the aircraft,
automatically operate the aircraft during the one or more upcoming flights based on the fuel level determined for the one or more upcoming flights, and
combine the drag factors and the fuel flow factors based on the following:
Δ
W
f
i
=
Δ
d
i
.
(
A
V
G
F
F
A
V
G
G
S
)
·
1
(
1
+
Δ
F
M
)
Δ
FM
=
-
(
DRAFfac
+
FFfac
)
Where
:
Δ
Wfi
=
Fuel
burn
predicted
at
sector
i
Δ
di
=
Distance
computed
in
sector
i
(
in
nm
)
AVGFF
=
Fuel
flow
computed
by
the
FMS
in
the
beginning
of
leg
i
AVGGS
=
Ground
speed
computed
by
the
FMS
in
the
beginning
of
leg
i
Δ
FM
=
Fuel
Mileage
factor
DRAGfac
=
Drag
factor
loaded
in
the
FMS
referred
to
the
associated
flight
phase
(
Climb
,
Cruise
or
Descent
)
FFfac
=
Fuel
flow
factor
loaded
in
the
FMS
referred
to
the
associated
flight
phase
(
Climb
,
Cruise
or
Descent
)
.
20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the control unit is further configured to estimate the fuel level for the aircraft before the one or more upcoming flights based on the following:
Total Fuel Burnt in the entire flight will be therefore:
W
f
=
∑
i
N
Δ
Wf
i
Where
:
N
is
the
total
number
of
legs
in
the
flight
pla
n
.