Conventions

Coding standards

  • Follow PEP 8.

  • In particular, follow Python naming conventions for different entity types, except in cases where there is a well-established domain convention (e.g., maybe air_pressure and air_temperature style for “normal” pressures and temperatures, but P3 and T3 style for engine station pressures and temperatures).

  • For common quantity types, follow the naming conventions in the data dictionary below.

  • Install pre-commit and ensure that your editor/IDE makes problems detected by Ruff visible. (Ideally you would also use a static type checker like PyRight.)

Units

  • All quantities internal to AEIC code are in SI units.

  • All quantities input in non-SI conventional units are converted to SI units immediately.

  • All quantities output in non-SI conventional units are converted from SI units only at the point of output.

  • All parameters to public functions are annotated with units information in the format “parameter description [units]”, e.g., “Rate of climb/descent [m/s]”.

Data dictionary

For common physical quantities, we use a consistent naming convention for variables to make it immediately clear what quantities are being considered. Variables using these conventional names are guaranteed to be in exactly the units in the table below. “Other units” are used only for input and output when required.

Quantity

Units

Variable name

Other units

Distance

m

(various)

Nautical miles

Time

s

(various)

Minutes, hours

Mass

kg

(various)

Velocity

m/s

(various)

Knots

Ground distance

m

ground_distance

Nautical miles

Ground speed

m/s

ground_speed

Nautical miles

Airspeed

m/s

true_airspeed

Altitude

m

altitude and variants

Feet

Flight level

FL (1)

flight_level

Aircraft mass

kg

aircraft_mass

Thrust

N

..._thrust

kN

Fuel mass

kg

fuel_mass

Fuel flow

kg/s

fuel_flow

Rate of climb

m/s

rate_of_climb

ft/min?

Latitude

degrees (WGS-84)

latitude

Longitude

degrees (WGS-84)

longitude

Heading/azimuth

degrees (CW from true N)

heading

Fuel heating value

J/kg

...HV

More to be added here…

Notes:

  1. Pressure altitude in feet, relative to 1013 hPa, divided by 100.