Novel High-Lift Systems to help transform Aircraft Approach Procedures
STEPLESS
STEPLESS - Novel High-Lift Systems to help transform Aircraft Approach Procedures
The aircraft and air traffic control are the two main perspectives from which the project is approaching the development and analysis of new, stepless high-lift devices
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STEPLESS
STEPLESS is a Horizon Europe project conducted under the Digital European Sky initiative of the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking. Coordinated by DLR’s Institute of Flight Systems, the project aims to reduce the environmental impact of aircraft final approach operations by optimising procedures for both conventional 3-degree and increased glideslope (IGS) angles.
Tackling Aviation’s Challenges
Environmental sustainability is one of aviation’s biggest challenges today. To reach the EU’s environmental goals, the aviation sector needs to continue improving fuel efficiency of aircraft and taking measures to reduce noise exposure in the vicinity of airports.
Aviation’s sustainability goals can only be met in a timely fashion if slower moving technical developments are coupled with more immediate improvements of operational methods and procedures.
One operational means currently under investigation is the introduction of increased glideslope angles. Approaches with an increased glideslope angle are intended to reduce the noise exposure on the ground by allowing aircraft to fly the final approach at higher altitudes.
Unfortunately, steeper approach angles also reduce the aircraft’s capability to decelerate sufficiently during this flight phase, forcing pilots to use flaps and landing gear extension earlier to help reduce speed through drag, which creates additional noise.
The ever-increasing traffic load that Air Traffic Control needs to handle near busy airports often leads to ad-hoc speed interventions. Since today's high-lift systems feature only a limited set of predefined configurations, pilots are not able to select an optimal configuration in such a case, which in turn can lead to higher fuel consumption and more emissions.
An Innovative High-Lift System
To overcome these challenges, STEPLESS introduces a novel high-lift system that enables stepless adjustments to aircraft configurations during approach. This allows dynamic adaptation to glide slope angles and flight conditions, improving energy management and enabling steeper, more efficient glidepaths.
Project Objectives
STEPLESS focuses on operational and environmental improvements with the following key objectives:
Energy-Efficient Approaches: Investigating how stepless high-lift configurations support energy-efficient approaches.
Environmental Impact: Analysing potential reductions in CO2 emissions and noise during final approach operations.
Pilot and Aircraft Performance: Assessing impacts on pilot workload, required interfaces, and aircraft airworthiness, as well as implications for departure and go-around phases.
ATM Adaptation: Evaluating how stepless configurations can better integrate with Air Traffic Management (ATM) operations in TMAs.
SESAR Solution Development: Creating conditions to transfer project results into future SESAR Solutions.
Enhancing Air Traffic Efficiency
By improving compliance with air traffic control (ATC) speed constraints, STEPLESS also contributes to enhancing ATM efficiency and increasing airspace capacity, aligning with the broader goals of the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking to modernise European air traffic management.
This project receives funding from the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 101166837 under European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. The Swiss participants in STEPLESS have received funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) under grant contract No. 24.00505.
Participants
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt, Stichting Koninklijk Nederlands Lucht - En Ruimtevaartcentrum, Swiss Skylab Foundation, Thales Avs France , Universitat Politecnica De Catalunya, L - UP SAS
The project is supported by the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking and its founding members. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or SESAR 3 JU. Neither the European Union nor the SESAR 3 JU can be held responsible for them.
Supported by SESAR 3 JU and Co-funded by the European Union
