Airspace availability estimation for traffic flow management using the scanning method

We present a new method for airspace availability estimation based on scanning an ATC sector or Center with sets of parallel lines cast in a series of directions, e.g. every 20 degrees for a complete 360-degree horizon. The scan lines may encounter actual or forecast convective weather. Based on the maximum actual intensity or forecast probability of convective weather, we determine if a given weather area is permeable by a scan line. The ratio of the number of scan lines that can permeate all convective weather in a Center vs. the total number of scan lines crossing the Center determines its airspace availability in a given direction for a particular hour. We then create ldquoWind Roserdquo style charts depicting directional availability of airspace in ATC Centers impacted by convective weather. This method is applied to comparing the accuracy of different convective forecast products. We also discuss further applications such as computing directional availability vs. directional demand and building airspace queuing delay models, from simple to more complex.