Dassault Falcon has introduced FalconWays, a flight-planning application designed to help pilots determine and implement the most flight-efficient routes. The app blends a variety of data in its algorithms, including aircraft performance, weight, and weather to determine the optimum flight route for fuel burn savings.
In a demonstration at the airframer’s chalet this week at NBAA-BACE, Cyrille Grimald—project manager for FalconWays—gave AIN a rundown of the system’s capabilities. Using the example of an eight-hour Falcon 6X flight between Paris and Mumbai, he designed an optimized flight route using the app, which is compatible with Jeppesen and Universal flight-planning tools.
The first phase—flight preparation—involves combining the aircraft’s performance with accurate weight and balance calculations, in addition to the predicted weather. Then, the system will determine the optimal amount of trip fuel required to reach the destination.
Grimald cautioned users to consider carefully the amount of excess fuel they wished to tanker. While extra fuel is a pilot's prerogative, he noted that more weight equals higher fuel burn and greater emissions.
“If you want to save CO2, you have to save fuel,” he said, adding that such fuel savings will be reflected in the app. He also suggested the data input be made as close to takeoff as possible to ensure the most up-to-date information. “It’s really important just before flying to take the latest weather, and you will have the best route that you can,” he explained.
For the example flight, Grimald was able to achieve a 3 percent reduction in fuel consumption and emissions just by optimizing the weight on takeoff.
The second phase—flight execution—involves changes made to the route during the flight. A “free flight” feature will automatically suggest the most optimal route, taking advantage of tailwinds or minimizing headwinds, and the app can show and compare the different tracks.
Users can slide the aircraft icon along the map on the track to show different weather and even differing arrival times. While an earlier arrival might be preferred by passengers, it might not be the most optimal in terms of fuel burn saving, so users can use FalconWays to suggest speeds. The app can even analyze segments of flights.
Taking into account variables such as altitude, lateral direction, and en-route weather, Grimald was able to demonstrate a further fuel savings of 7 percent in the execution phase, for a total savings of 10 percent.
The main goal of the application—which will be available for the 6X and will be expanded to the Falcon 8X and 7X next year and to the 2000 series in early 2025—is to minimize emissions, not minimize flight time. “It could be an option for the future, but the first version of FalconWays is clearly dedicated to emissions reduction,” concluded Grimald.