Using STK's
Aviator capability, you can set up aircraft to fly very precise procedures and complete entire predefined routes. However, in the real world, aircraft aren’t always as precise. Wind, weather, and other variables will cause the aircraft to behave differently. In cases such as the test and evaluation of aircraft and air systems, this can lead to unexpected results. This article describes how to set up STK to model the route of an aircraft that gets blown off course from wind.
In the attached scenario, "AircraftRefLine" is a reference route that goes to a waypoint and maintains a 50° course relative to a ground site named "Reference_Place." Go to the properties of AircraftRefLine to see how the route is set up. The mission uses a “Relative Course” procedure, which is an advanced procedure type included in STK's
Aviator Pro capability.
Aviator Pro extends the modeling capabilities of
Aviator by providing aircraft procedures that depend on other aircraft or STK objects, such as formation flying, collision avoidance, landing on aircraft carriers, and more. For a full list of features that are available with
Aviator Pro, see the
Aviator Pro Help.
The object called "AircraftOffCourse" starts off with the same route as AircraftRefLine but has an additional Absolute Heading procedure. This procedure causes the aircraft to try to maintain a specified heading during a strong gust of wind, allowing it to be blown off course due to wind. Go to the properties of AircraftOffCourse and in the Mission List, go to the properties of “Relative Course – 50 deg” and “Blown Off Course” to see how to specify those procedures. The wind is set up to blow at 40 knots only during the Blown Off Course interval, to model a strong incoming wind. Right-click Blown Off Course and select “Wind/Atmosphere” to see how the wind and atmosphere are set up. The “Return to Course” procedure then enables the aircraft to get back on course after being blown off.
As you can see in the picture below, the 40-knot winds cause AircraftOffCourse to drift off course. AircraftOffCourse then corrects its route.
