How to model aircraft fuel consumption during the approach?

Question

I am trying to write an algorithm modelling the 'Airplane landing problem'. The aim is to land a sequence of airplanes while minimizing the operating costs and respecting constraints such as the separation between consecutive airplanes. Hence, I need to be able to quantify these operating costs in particular fuel consumption.

Basically, in my simulation - it's a very simple approach - airplanes can be in 3 different regimes :

• the aircraft can be asked to fly faster than it's preferred speed, it's called time advance and it's one of the tools used to reduce congestion
• the aircraft can of course fly at it's preferred speed
• the aircraft can be asked to fly a holding pattern

I would like to elaborate a function that would give the fuel consumption in function of the time for every mode. I absolutely don't know where to start. The only information that I find deal with the preferred speed consumption. How can I model the two others regimes ?

Edit : Indeed, the part concerning holding patterns is similar to this other question. However, I don't think any information on time advance has been given so I would like to focus my question on this. Also, if anyone has more information on fuel consumption in holding patterns than would by very helpful. Thank you very much

Answer 1

Approaches take relatively little time, and have various throttle ranges, from idle to slow level flight. I would simply model as if the aircraft were flying level for the distance of the approach, you will over estimate fuel consumption for the approach itself, but for even a 60 minute flight the error would be tiny. You simply cannot accurately predict what is going to happen.