Abstract:

Based on the communication radius of aircraft, an analytical framework of the link between aircraft from a probability model is proposed, and the analytical expressions of the expected link lifetime, the relative velocity and their distributions, which are the metrics for link stability, are derived. Furthermore, simulations are done to verify the accuracy of the analytical expressions. The results show that the relative velocities between aircraft are mainly distributed between 100 m/s and 400 m/s, scattering mostly from 300 m/s to 400 m/s; link dynamics are mainly distributed between 1 000 s and 2 000 s, moreover, the expected link lifetime increases firstly, then decreases, and its distribution shifts towards the shorter times as the velocity increases.