Visual assistance to support late merging operations in 4D trajectory-based arrival management

Within the German Aerospace Center (DLR) project FAGI (Future Air Ground Integration), new operational concepts and automation support systems for fuel- and noise-efficient arrival management are being developed. An essential element of the FAGI concept is a modified airspace and route structure, featuring the late merging of different arrival routes to support user-preferred flight profiles such as Continuous Descent Approaches (CDA). The present paper studies aircraft ghosting solutions on the radar display as a potential means to support controllers with merging different streams of aircraft with sufficient precision. In addition to a technical presentation of different ghosting principles, the results of two human in the loop studies are reported. Using objective and subjective data on performance, workload, situation awareness, and eye-tracking analysis, the benefits, trade-offs and acceptance of the visual assistance functions are discussed.