The Coordination Action WakeNet3-Europe promotes multidisciplinary exchange between scientific and operational specialists in the field of wake vortex turbulence. It shall enable the development of a shared view on how to address capacity-limitations caused by wake turbulence separations and how to assure air transport safety with regard to wake vortex encounters despite increasing air traffic density and increasing diversity of the operational aircraft fleet.

Background

Safe separation distances prescribed to avoid potential hazards by aircraft encountering a preceding aircraft’s wake vortex are limiting airport capacity growth. Increasing airport congestion, the increasing diversity of aircraft types (e.g. the advent of Very Light Jets), the introduction of new large aircraft and the availability of new technologies have promoted extensive wake vortex investigations in recent years. These involve researchers, operational users (airports, pilots, airlines), air navigation service providers, regulators as well as aircraft and equipment manufacturers. The activities of the last decade have progressed from physical understanding of the wake vortex phenomenon itself to the development of new operational concepts and rulemaking. Airbus has been strongly involved in many of these research projects and has undertaken an unprecedented amount of flight tests (including several hundred deliberate wake vortex encounters) in order to help identify safe separation distances for its new Airbus A380. Other companies and research establishments have considerably helped to improve wake vortex detection and characterization by remote sensing as well as to better understand wake vortex physics, especially the meteorological influences on wake vortex behaviour and lifetime. See the section on EC-funded wake vortex research projects to gain an impression.

Today, wake vortex studies primarily relate to the following two questions:
(1) How can today’s rigid and fragmented systems of wake turbulence separation requirements be replaced by more flexible and even dynamic separation methods?
(2) How can safety and capacity be increased with the help of ground-based and airborne advisory and detection systems?

To answer these questions and to gain the expected benefits, the new concepts must be technically validated and proven as safe and operationally suitable. Like previous Thematic Networks, WakeNet3-Europe will be the forum for the necessary communications, building a bridge between wake vortex research and operations, in order to get scientifically-funded agreement among stakeholders to help making new technologies usable for the air transport system. For this, WakeNet3-Europe will organise annual workshops open to all interested parties, establish focused Task Groups and links to existing local stakeholder groups, professional groups, other projects and to US and other non-EU activities. From these activities, consolidated recommendations for future research activities and concept implementations will be elaborated.

I hope you will find the content of this website helpful to your needs and that you will frequently revisit this site for information and news.

If you have questions or remarks concerning the WakeNet3-Europe project or wish to comment on the content of this website please contact me at coordinator@wakenet.eu.
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Yours sincerely,

Andreas Reinke