Summary of KDC results 2019

What did we achieve in 2019?

Which projects did we work on? What did we complete? What will we continue to work on over the course of the next year? And what are the results so far? You can find the answers to all these questions below.

In 2019…

… we worked on 8 different projects.

… we finished 3 projects, the remaining 5 studies started in 2019 will be completed in 2020.

… were 12 studies conducted by students within the Centre of Excellence. Nine of them were bachelor students

who graduated at the Aviation Academy of the University of Applied Sciences Amsterdam and three of them were master students who graduated on Aerospace Engineering at the Technical University Delft.

 

The programme of 2019 is divided in different clusters. These clusters have been projected on a horizontal plane indicating for which parts of the Airport/Airspace system the research areas are applicable. These are visualized in the figure below.

Results KDC projects

The projects finished in 2019 are all part of the AMAN Cluster (including iCAS development). A small explanation of the finished projects is provided below.

Cross-border arrival management (XMAN)

KDC has developed a trial CONOPS (Concept of Operations) and a trial definition of performance indicators (KPIs) to support the XMAN development. In addition, a sensitivity study was carried out for the implementation of high-resolution meteorological data.

Holding support for area control

The KDC investigated whether there are solutions for on time departure of aircraft from the holding stack. This so-called holding support is intended for the area controllers and should help them to deliver the traffic to approach at the scheduled time during stack holding.

Schiphol Target Time of Arrival (TTA) Concept

A concept and trial plan are created for the topic target time of arrival. In addition, support was provided for the implementation of the trail, which resulted from the sector plan about the fourth runway rule.

 

Studies of the 2019 program that will be finished in 2020

The five accrued projects from 2019 will be finished, which are:

Business Case Optimizing preferred use of Schiphol runways through flexible ILS maintenance

The goal for this activity is to assess the feasibility of additional permanent ILS signal quality monitoring, enabling a more flexible planning of ILS ground inspections at Mainport Schiphol Airport. This will be achieved by first performing a theoretical assessment of permanent ILS monitoring configurations, in terms of antenna types and positions as well as expected measurement quality. Secondly a proof of concept will be done and finally the operational benefits must be determined.

Business Case ASAS Interval Management

Interval Management (IM) is a technology that can increase safety and capacity of fixed arrival route operations. The goal of this research is to build a business case which supports the aviation sector, KLM in particular, to move forward with the implementation of Interval Management.

Nighttime CDA’s

This subject changed a bit compared to the description in the KDC research agenda. The LVNL has chosen to design new night approaches by themselves. To make this possible, a short feasibility study will be carried out, a data analysis, to see whether the quality of the FMS data that KLM receives via ACARS is sufficient to conduct a trial. This trial will need to be conducted to synchronize the night approaches early. This is a development that builds on the AIRE-2 trial conducted in 2011 by KLM, LVNL and the NLR.

Continuous Climb / High Altitude SIDs

The goal of this research is to develop departure route design options for the top four preferential runway combinations at EHAM considering RNP1 navigation performance, increased climb profile uniformity and traffic bundling. This is done by optimization of departure routes in the Schiphol TMA, based on continuous climb departures, making use of the advantages of precision navigation and increased trajectory uniformity.

Multi-airport concept / TMA

This is a research into how the management of traffic flows in Dutch airspace can be improved, taking in account the location and function of Dutch airports. Goal of the research is to develop a concept for the planning and management of traffic flows. Options under consideration for this concept are: alignment of flight schedules, coordination of peak hours, refinement of flow measures, tactical complexity management measures, etc.

 

Results KDC – Centre of Excellence

Through the Center of Excellence (CoE) KDC builds its cooperation with its research partners; universities and colleges. A collaboration has been established between the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) Aviation Academy and the Technical University (TU) Delft. These two organizations are collaborating closely with KDC developing applied research to strategical issues of each partner. Master & Bachelor students get the chance to develop their thesis in close collaboration with industry partners, and to contribute to the efficiency and sustainability of Schiphol mainport.

 

Results of the students at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

Capacity requirements analysis of civil air traffic in military controlled airspace

Study into capacity estimation of the Lelystad TMA

by Tessa Rietema

Operational benefits since the connection of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol with the Network Manager

Study on the operational benefits related to the implementation of A-CDM at Schiphol

by Marc Voogt

Comparison of airport slots and schedule & flight planning

Study on causes and insights into arrival airport slot adherence in planning stage

by Marc Riebeek

Capacity analysis of airport slot planning and air traffic demand

A study on the bunching effect in the Dutch airspace

by Casper Moll

D-1 prediction

A study into the prediction of the demand at the day before operation. Validating and improving the D-1 prediction

by Flore Wassenberg

Arrival Management evaluation

Study into Advanced Schiphol Arrival Planner

by Anouk Hollebeek

Buffers as an instrument to manage airspace capacity

Study on the use of stack holding as an alternative to ATFM delay during peak hours at Schiphol airport

by Kyara Metz

Operational plan stability at Schiphol Airport

Study into the causes and effects of instability in the operational plan

by Sybren Kuiper

Planning inefficiencies within the overall planning system of Mainport Schiphol

A study on alignment issues between the major stakeholders in the Dutch aviation sector, causing planning inefficiencies in the inbound and turnaround phase

by Femke Mollema

 

Results of the students at the Technical University Delft

Design and Evaluation of a Visual Interface for an En Route Air Traffic Control Mergin Task

Study to provide insight into the challenges of a merging task for an area controller within the Amsterdam South Sector, with the objective of maintaining safety and improving controller performance

by Eline Bakker

Dutch Aircraft Noise Model Analysis

Study into the Dutch aircraft noise model by comparing it with measurements, focused on analyzing the aircraft classification as prescribed by the model by comparing single flight calculations with measurements taken by the Schiphol Noise Measurement System (NOMOS) based on the Sound Exposure Levels (𝑆𝐸𝐿)

by Davey Hooijmeijer

Design and Evaluation of a Visual Interface for Separation Support in Time-Based Approach Air Traffic Control

Study to develop a first concept of a display that assists the APP controllers in selecting a flight path for an aircraft, such that the aircraft will be safely and efficiently separated on the ILS, to ensure as much gain as possible from the implementation of TBS

by Mats Dirkzwager