NAS-wide vertical profile analysis: Level segments in arrival and departure flows

Low altitude level flight segments increase fuel burn and emissions for the aircraft flying them. The number and length of level segments flown during arrival and departure operations can be reduced by procedure design which leverages the advantages of Area Navigation (RNAV) to reduce actual level flight. Such design must take into account many factors including terrain, current route of a particular flow of air traffic, other proximate air traffic flows, aircraft equipage, and air traffic control (ATC) needs. Variation of these factors between airports can make comparison difficult, whether between sites or over time. Recent studies, performed by The MITRE Corporation´s Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD) on behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), have led to the development of a methodology for analyzing traffic flow vertical profiles for the purpose of reducing fuel burn and emissions in transition airspace. The methodology is flexible enough to be meaningfully applied to airports across the United States National Airspace System (NAS), while still having the specificity to reflect site specific vertical profile improvements. For example, in one recent study using this standardized methodology, over 4,000 traffic flows were identified for 48 airports across the NAS. Results were examined at the Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), airport, flow, and individual segment level of detail, enabling support for national planning efforts as well as local procedure design. Results are typically reviewed in either a tabular format or in an interactive 3-D environment.