The enhancement of the prescribed track for unmanned air vehicles

Abstract

Purpose Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are more affected by adverse wind conditions in especially landing. Therefore, they need to change the runway in use. In case of this change, to eliminate the uncertain maneuvers, there is a need for a special prescribed track. The purpose of this study is the construction of a prescribed track at a single runway to provide a facility to change the runway in use. Design/methodology/approach Two forms of prescribed tracks, as standard and alternate, were constructed for UAVs by taking into consideration the key parameters to design flight procedures. Both tracks were assessed in a real-time simulation method. Moreover, unmanned vehicle simulation was used for a validation process. Findings According to the real-time simulation results, 8.14 NM and 6.64 NM of flight distance and 5.43 min and 4.43 min of flight time for the standard and alternate prescribed tracks were found, respectively. The obtained results were in favor of the alternate prescribed track. Furthermore, the prescribed track was assessed and validated in both air traffic control and UAV simulations. The feedback of pilots and controllers was very positive for a prescribed track, as it provided them with foresight and time to take care in any situations. Practical implications The prescribed track in this paper may be applied by airspace designers and UAV users to perform safe and efficient landing in adverse wind conditions. Originality/value In this study, a prescribed track was constructed for UAVs. Quantitative results were achieved using a real-time simulation method in terms of flight distance and flight time. Additionally, validation of the prescribed track was achieved by unmanned air vehicle simulation.