Flight Plan

compute_flight_plan(aircraft, flight_sequence, takeoff_airport=None, return_airport=None, start_offset=5, end_offset=1)[source]

Compute a flight plan with segment classifications.

Return type:

GeoDataFrame

Parameters:
Segment types are determined as follows:

  • “takeoff” for the very first ascending phase,

  • “climb” for any subsequent ascending phase,

  • “transit” for level flight,

  • “descent” for descending flight,

  • “flight_line” for dedicated flight line segments,

  • “approach” for the final descending phase into the return airport.

create_flight_line_record(flight_line, aircraft)[source]

Create a flight line record dictionary for inclusion in a flight plan DataFrame.

Parameters:

  • flight_line (FlightLine) – The flight line to convert.

  • aircraft (Aircraft) – Aircraft used to compute segment timing.

Returns:

Record with geometry, endpoints, altitudes (feet), headings,

time (minutes), segment type, and distance (nautical miles).

Return type:

dict

process_flight_phase(start, end, phase_info, segment_name)[source]

Process a flight phase using the detailed phase_info.

For each sub-phase in phase_info[“phases”], this function determines the segment type based on the altitude change:

  • If ascending, the phase is labeled “takeoff” when segment_name is “Departure”, otherwise “climb”.

  • If descending, the phase is labeled “approach” when segment_name is “Arrival”, otherwise “descent”.

  • If no altitude change, the phase is labeled “transit”.

Returns a list of record dictionaries for inclusion in the flight plan.

plot_flight_plan(flight_plan_gdf, takeoff_airport, return_airport, flight_sequence)[source]

Plot the computed flight plan on a 2D map with airports, waypoints, and flight lines.

Parameters:

  • flight_plan_gdf (GeoDataFrame) – Flight plan from compute_flight_plan().

  • takeoff_airport (Airport) – Departure airport (plotted as red star).

  • return_airport (Airport) – Arrival airport (plotted as blue star).

  • flight_sequence (list) – Sequence of FlightLine and Waypoint objects.

terrain_profile_along_track(flight_plan_gdf, dem_file=None)[source]

Sample terrain elevation along the flight plan track.

Extracts lat/lon points from each segment geometry, queries DEM elevation, and returns arrays of cumulative time and terrain height.

Parameters:

  • flight_plan_gdf (GeoDataFrame) – Flight plan from compute_flight_plan().

  • dem_file (str, optional) – Path to DEM file. If None, one is auto-downloaded.

Returns:

(times, elevations) where times is cumulative minutes and

elevations is terrain height in feet MSL, both as numpy arrays.

Return type:

tuple

plot_altitude_trajectory(flight_plan_gdf, aircraft=None, dem_file=None, show_terrain=True)[source]

Plot altitude vs. time trajectory with optional terrain profile.

If an Aircraft is provided, climb/takeoff segments are drawn with the realistic curved profile (ROC decreases with altitude). Otherwise all segments are drawn as straight lines.

Parameters:

  • flight_plan_gdf (GeoDataFrame) – Flight plan from compute_flight_plan().

  • aircraft (Aircraft, optional) – Aircraft used for the flight plan.

  • dem_file (str, optional) – Path to DEM file for terrain. If None, auto-downloaded.

  • show_terrain (bool) – If True, overlay terrain elevation beneath the flight path.