An algorithm to schedule aircraft to sorties

An algorithm is presented which provides Air Force schedulers the capabilit alternative schedules rapidly. This capability enhances the schedulers' ability to obtain “good” schedules by: (1) providing for rapid rescheduling in the event of inevitable changeswhich routinely occur during the period of the schedule, (2) presenting a specific quantifiable set of objectives to be met by the schedule.The algorithm is designed specifically for use by B-52 and KC-135 schedulers in the Strategic Air Command. The objective function includes a term for minimizing hours remaining to phase inspections, where hours remaining to phase inspection refers to the number of flying hours an aircraft is permitted to accrue prior to being grounded for the maintenance action referred to as a phase inspection.Another term in the objective function is to maximize the number of turn-around flights, where a turn-around flight occurs when the same aircraft flys more than one sortie in a 48 hr time period. A turn-around sortie requires less pre-flight maintenance and thus results in a cost savings.A very favorable comparison is presented of algorithm schedules with schedules manually prepared in an operational environment.