Analysis of Flight Plans for Visual Flight Rules Toward Preflight Information Sharing

With the increased use of small unmanned aircraft systems, the collision risk between manned aircraft and small unmanned aircraft systems is increasing. One promising solution to avoid such risks is preflight information sharing and conflict resolution between manned aircraft and small unmanned aircraft systems. However, detailed flight plan information is often not available for aircraft operating under visual flight rules. The authors developed flight estimation methods for a visual flight rules helicopter flight by using the information extracted from the visual flight rules flight plan, such as the origin/destination points, the estimated flight time, and the names of the points on the route. Furthermore, one method estimates the positional coordinate of points on the route by using the track data of the previous flights. The proposed methods were evaluated by comparing the results with the actual track, and they are discussed from the viewpoints of information quality and implementation effort. Potential implementation for future operational environment in a low-altitude airspace was investigated based on the evaluation results. Finally, recommendations are provided for preflight information sharing and conflict resolution between visual flight rules aircraft and small unmanned aircraft systems.