Continuous Descent Approaches with Variable Flight-Path Angles under Time Constraints

In order to reduce noise nuisance around Schiphol Airport, a Continuous Descent Approach procedure was introduced in the late ’90s. Unfortunately, because unpredictable individual aircraft behavior lead to increased landing intervals for this procedure, it is currently only applied during night time operations. Time-of-Arrival control in the terminal area could reduce the landing interval for this procedure. The research presented in this paper investigates the influence of multiple segments with different flight-path angles on the time of arrival. A new procedure with Variable Flight-path angle (VFA) involving active planning of the approach from the pilot through a pilot support interface, presented in the Vertical Situation Display. A preliminary pilot-in-the-loop evaluation was conducted, to investigate pilot performance, workload and interface usability. Three scenarios were tested, all with different Required Time of Arrival. Workload was low for all scenarios and performance good for the two scenarios with early arrival times. For the scenario with a late arrival time, performance was mediocre. Changes in representation of the flap and gear cues and the addition of Estimated Time of Arrival information might improve the performance.