Optimal Trajectory Generation for Next Generation Flight Management Systems

Abstract

Next generation flight management systems require the compliance of temporal and spatial constraints on navigation performance. The problem of generating fuel-efficient trajectories for aircrafts that comply with the required navigation performance is approached from an optimal control framework. By deriving the necessary conditions for optimality, nominal optimal control signals can be generated in a computationally efficient manner. These control signals can be used to generate nominal trajectories for an aircraft model. Using the nominal control and nominal trajectory, a feedforward-feedback control scheme can be implemented to robustify the system’s response in the presence of uncertainty and disturbances to still achieve the required navigation performance. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated through simulation and Monte Carlo runs.