Visualization of Airplane Trajectory Based on ADS-B Data in Flight Simulators

Nowadays the flight simulator market is developing rapidly. A virtual scene proposed by flight simulator software includes precise global digital elevation models, imaginary, 3D models and spectacular textures of artificial constructions, weather phenomena modeling includes wing flow generation and airframe models which support math models of dynamic movement of airplanes and interrogation with airflow. Modern flight simulators are widely used in pilot training, air traffic safety analysis, and during an investigation of special aviation events. In the paper, we consider visualization of airplane flight in flight simulation software based on trajectory data obtained from Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) in post-processing mode. We study a case of available airplane trajectory in geodetic data of latitude, longitude, and pressure altitude. A linear regression model with B-splines is used for data interpolation to fill the gaps. Also, equations for recovery orientation angles (heading and pitch), vertical and ground velocities, Mach number, and static air temperature are used to prepare input data for scene visualization in flight simulation software. As an example trajectory data of a particular flight has been used to generate a virtual scene.