Cessna today unveiled a new flight planning program for current production Citation operators that optimizes a flight profile for the lowest carbon footprint alongside traditional metrics of time and cost.
Called GreenTrak, the proprietary software uses a process known as cost indexing to minimize total trip cost by balancing the costs of direct operation, fuel burn and carbon emissions, a first for general aviation, according to Cessna. The company plans to release the software for all current production Citations.
The program determines the optimum climb, cruise and descent speed schedules for a given ratio of cost of time, linked to direct operating costs, and to the cost of fuel using the aircraft's gross weight, altitude, wind speed, direction and temperature. The resulting flight plan will result in the lowest total trip cost in terms of fuel consumed and carbon emitted, says Cessna.
Source: Flight Daily News
