Performance of on-board wake vortex prediction systems employing various meteorological data sources

Kurzfassung

In this work the accuracy of wake vortex predictions of DLR's Wake Encounter Avoidance and Advisory System (WEAA) is analyzed by means of data gathered from a flight test campaign in April 2014. The system is based on airborne data exchange between aircraft and allows pilots to avoid potentially dangerous wake vortex encounters. As the vortex evolution is strongly controlled by atmospheric parameters, the acquisition of meteorological data is crucial for WEAA. The accuracy of the wake vortex predictions is investigated, employing first the current Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS-B) standard, which is then extended by additional meteorological data transmitted via telemetry, or data from numerical weather predictions.