Systems and methods for determining real time fuel consumption information of an aircraft

A method comprising:

• obtaining, by one or more control units disposed onboard an aircraft, predicted fuel consumption data for a flight of the aircraft, wherein the predicted fuel consumption data predicts consumption of fuel by the aircraft over time during the flight prior to the aircraft consuming the fuel;
• communicating the predicted fuel consumption data to a ground-based sub-system;
• determining actual fuel consumption data of the aircraft during the flight via one or more fuel sensors onboard the aircraft;
• comparing, via the one or more control units, the actual fuel consumption data to the predicted fuel consumption data;
• in response to a difference between the actual fuel consumption data and the predicted fuel consumption data being greater than a predetermined tolerance, communicating an update signal from the aircraft to the ground-based sub-system, the update signal including a value of the actual fuel consumption data;
• and
• in response to the difference between the actual fuel consumption data and the predicted fuel consumption data not being greater than the predetermined tolerance, determining that the predicted fuel consumption data is accurate and not communicating the update signal to the ground-based sub-system.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause one or more control units comprising a processor and disposed onboard an aircraft, to perform operations comprising:

• determining predicted fuel consumption data for a flight of the aircraft, wherein said predicted fuel consumption data is determined by inputting initial conditions for the aircraft before the flight and real time data of the aircraft during the flight into a performance model that is specific to the aircraft, wherein the predicted fuel consumption data predicts consumption of fuel by the aircraft over time during the flight prior to the aircraft consuming the fuel;
• communicating the predicted fuel consumption data to a ground-based sub-system;
• determining actual fuel consumption data of the aircraft during the flight via one or more fuel sensors onboard the aircraft;
• comparing the actual fuel consumption data to the predicted fuel consumption data;
• in response to a difference between the actual fuel consumption data and the predicted fuel consumption data being greater than a predetermined tolerance, communicating an update signal from the aircraft to the ground-based sub-system, the update signal including a value of the actual fuel consumption data;
• and
• in response to the difference between the actual fuel consumption data and the predicted fuel consumption data not being greater than the predetermined tolerance, determining that the predicted fuel consumption data is accurate and not communicating the update signal to the ground-based sub-system.