Math tool to cut waiting time at airports

The time spent twiddling thumbs while waiting for your flight at the airport could soon be significantly reduced, thanks to new math tool!
Researchers have developed a new mathematical tool to calculate the flow of turbulent air produced by a plane's wing tips when an aircraft takes off that could lead to reduced delays on the airport runway.
"Every aircraft leaves in its wake a turbulent flow of air that can be dangerous to the airplane immediately behind it," said professor Georgios Vatistas from the Concordia University.
"That's why there are often large separation distances between planes as they line up for takeoff. It's a major cause of delays on the runway," said Vatistas.

The study will assist in improving the present standards for the separation distance between planes, while maintaining safety.
Mathematically calculating the amount of turbulence created by the wing tips of aircraft, particularly during takeoff, gives air traffic controllers a better method of determining how far each aircraft should be from the next.

"This research will place the required separation distance on a better ground, particularly for the huge Airbus 380," said Vatistas.
"Our model takes the airplane's specifications into account to develop a more precise picture of exactly how strong the wing tip vortices are. From that, you can accurately calculate how far away the following aircraft needs to be for safety," said Vatistas.

Extending the "Vatistas Vortex Model" to account for turbulence, the research team carefully recreated the swirling vortices of air produced by the wing tips of aircraft during takeoff.
"To make takeoff procedures more efficient, we need to establish strict separation standards for new aircraft like the super-heavy Airbus 380, which are becoming more and more common on runways around the world.
"At the same time, we need to develop more precise standards for smaller aircraft. This mathematical model could guide us to do both - in effect, tailoring separation distances based on aircraft size to allow better variability in spacing," researchers said.

Vatistas expects that future studies using his research team's new methodology will improve on aviation safety by determining more precise safe-separation distances among different types of aircraft.
The research appears in the Journal of Aircraft.