Preliminary flight test investigation of an airborne wake vortex detection concept

NASA and the FAA have conducted a brief flight-test investigation to furnish preliminary data on the feasibility of transport aircraft wake-vortices' detection, with a view to improving airport capacity by reducing the longitudinal in-trail spacing between aircraft on landing runs. Attention was given to the possibility that the detection of strong vortices at a sufficiently early stage might furnish reasonable warning of impending aerodynamic effects. Preliminary results indicate that while maximum detection distances obtainable with wingtip-mounted flow-angularity vanes are slightly lower than had been predicted, improved detector algorithms may render them more sensitive.