A Collision Avoidance Tool for Aircraft Pilots

A new collision avoidance device is being developed by the Federal Aviation Administration. It is proposed that the regions from which maneuvers to avoid collision can be made and the required maneuvers which are presented in this paper be displayed along with other information which will be available in the new device. The regions and maneuvers for a two aircraft encounter are found from reachability conditions for nonlinear systems and smooth targets with constant control. The results are applicable for the case in which both aircraft maintain nearly the same altitude, have speed ratios of two-to-one, and perform a single turn maneuver to avoid collision.