Affiliations: [a]
School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of NSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| [b]
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of NSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Bertrand Masson, School of Computer Science and Engineering, UNSW, High Street, Kensington, NSW, Australia. Tel.: +61 4 111 07028; E-mail: bhemasson@yahoo.com.
Abstract: Large Aircraft operators conducting regular passenger transport must satisfy regulatory requirements such as considering engine failure at takeoff at the worst point of the takeoff roll. Such constraints can severely restrict commercial payload, for example in airports surrounded by high terrain. However, current methods for the analysis of takeoff paths are largely manual and require significant time to yield an allowable payload. In contrast research in robotics, particularly on unmanned aerial vehicles, has created a wealth of automatic path planning techniques that enable high speed online guidance and navigation. Building on robotic path planning techniques, in this paper we address this complex problem in order to provide the aircraft performance engineer with automated methods of generating high quality escape paths that combine complex aircraft kinematics, terrain models and regulatory constraints in a unified mathematical framework. Specifically, we develop a general approach to the problem, formalize our method and provide results from extensive empirical evaluation of its implementation on a sample of real-world airports.
