A transport network management system identifies a service objective for a plurality of VTOL aircraft and retrieves VTOL data including locations of the plurality of VTOL aircraft. An estimate of demand for transport services to be provided at least in part by one of the VTOL aircraft is generated and routing data for the plurality of VTOL aircraft is determined based on the estimated demand and the service objective. Routing instructions based on the routing data are sent to at least a subset of the VTOL aircraft.

A transport network management system identifies a service objective for a plurality of VTOL aircraft and retrieves VTOL data including locations of the plurality of VTOL aircraft. An estimate of demand for transport services to be provided at least in part by one of the VTOL aircraft is generated and routing data for the plurality of VTOL aircraft is determined based on the estimated demand and the service objective. Routing instructions based on the routing data are sent to at least a subset of the VTOL aircraft.

A system and method are provided for continuously monitoring manual flight inputs and updating a flight management system with those manual inputs. The flight management system recalculates and provides predictions based on the manual inputs. The flight management system may continuously monitor certain thresholds. The flight management system utilizes the crew entered speed schedule until a threshold is exceeded. When the flight management system is reengaged, it may utilize the manually entered speeds within the speed schedule for a current phase of the flight. The flight management system may analyze the manual input and corresponding predictions to determine if they are within or conform to certain predefined criteria before using them for automated flight.

A system and method are provided for continuously monitoring manual flight inputs and updating a flight management system with those manual inputs. The flight management system recalculates and provides predictions based on the manual inputs. The flight management system may continuously monitor certain thresholds. The flight management system utilizes the crew entered speed schedule until a threshold is exceeded. When the flight management system is reengaged, it may utilize the manually entered speeds within the speed schedule for a current phase of the flight. The flight management system may analyze the manual input and corresponding predictions to determine if they are within or conform to certain predefined criteria before using them for automated flight.

Provided are a computer-implemented method, a computer program product, and a computer system for drone deployment for distributed asset maintenance and repair. Embodiments identify a fix for a problem at an asset and identify a drone to perform the fix. Embodiments generate an initial flight plan that describes a drone flight path for the drone, and embodiments generate an updated flight plan for the drone by updating the drone flight path using real-time air traffic data, real-time road traffic data, and real-time drone flight path conditions obtained from one or more edge devices. Embodiments generate an overall flight plan for the drone and one or more other drones using a predicted cost and a predicted period of time for the updated drone flight path. Embodiments send a drone flight path from the overall flight plan to the drone with instructions to fix the problem.

Provided are a computer-implemented method, a computer program product, and a computer system for drone deployment for distributed asset maintenance and repair. Embodiments identify a fix for a problem at an asset and identify a drone to perform the fix. Embodiments generate an initial flight plan that describes a drone flight path for the drone, and embodiments generate an updated flight plan for the drone by updating the drone flight path using real-time air traffic data, real-time road traffic data, and real-time drone flight path conditions obtained from one or more edge devices. Embodiments generate an overall flight plan for the drone and one or more other drones using a predicted cost and a predicted period of time for the updated drone flight path. Embodiments send a drone flight path from the overall flight plan to the drone with instructions to fix the problem.

A method for selecting a cruise phase route for an aircraft is presented. The method comprises receiving sequences of multivariate flight data from at least one prior flight and receiving a set of candidate cruise phase routes. Upcoming atmospheric conditions including at least upcoming tail winds are received for each of the set of candidate cruise phase routes. For each candidate cruise phase route, a sequence of fuel burn quantities is predicted based on the sequences of multivariate flight data and the upcoming atmospheric data. The fuel burn quantities are summed over the candidate cruise phase route to obtain an estimated fuel burn. A preferred candidate cruise phase route having a lowest estimated fuel burn is indicated.

Disclosed herein is a collection and dissemination system and method for attain structure characteristics information directly from encoded light signals produced by lights mounted to structures. An exemplary aircraft includes a light receiver, a data communication device, a processor, and a memory device. The light receiver receives light from a light-emitting device mounted to a structure. The memory device stores computer-executable code configured to cause the processor to perform steps of converting the light received by the light receiver into a data signal and transmitting the data signal to a navigation server via the data communication device, a network node, and a network.

Disclosed herein is a collection and dissemination system and method for attain structure characteristics information directly from encoded light signals produced by lights mounted to structures. An exemplary aircraft includes a light receiver, a data communication device, a processor, and a memory device. The light receiver receives light from a light-emitting device mounted to a structure. The memory device stores computer-executable code configured to cause the processor to perform steps of converting the light received by the light receiver into a data signal and transmitting the data signal to a navigation server via the data communication device, a network node, and a network.

Presented herein are systems and methods for operating a flight plan based distributed ledger system implemented on an aviation communications network. According to an aspect, data associated with communication transmissions occurring between communications elements of the aviation communications network may be recorded on the distributed ledger system. The communications elements involved in the distributed ledger system may be determined using a received flight plan. The flight plan information may be used to initialize the ledger information at each communications element involved in the distributed ledger system. The distributed ledger system may be updated to add or remove communications elements if the flight deviates from the original flight plan. After the flight plan is executed, the distributed ledger system may inactivate the ledger and store the ledger information in a centralized repository.