Quantified effects of high-altitude wind on route performance of large passenger plane

High-altitude wind affects the fuel consumption and flight time of large passenger plane route flight. This paper is aimed at proposing a method to calculate the route performance of aircraft in high-altitude wind, and analyzing the effects of high-altitude wind on route performance of large passenger plane. A flight simulation model of aircraft in the wind was established. A pilot modeling method for aircraft route flight was proposed. Based on the “pilot-aircraft” closed-loop digital virtual flight simulation, a method to calculate the route performance of aircraft in high-altitude wind was proposed. The fuel consumption, flight time and flight distance of the example aircraft under the typical route were calculated and analyzed. The study shows that, in the same flight distance, the fuel consumption and flight time of the plane are reduced by the tailwind and increased by the headwind. Due to the effects of high-altitude wind, the fuel consumption and flight time can be big difference in some round-trip route. In some long-distance route, due to the effects of high-altitude wind, in order to meet the maximum takeoff weight limit, the payload should be reduced to load more fuel, so as to reach the terminal airport.