The intuition of the MacCready setting

Authors

  • Bart Taub Adam Smith Business School Glasgow, UK

Abstract

I develop intuition for the MacCready setting without elaborate stochastic control or numerical analysis. I express the speed to fly problem as a constrained optimization using a Lagrangian formulation; the Lagrange multiplier associated with the constraint then has an interpretation as a shadow price. I then consider the effects of two types of uncertainty on the optimal speed to fly: thermals of random strength in known locations, and thermals of fixed strength in random locations. Finally, I analyze the consequences of boundaries for the optimal speed to fly: the finite height of cloudbase, the ground, and the distance to the objective.

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Published

2020-10-25

Issue

Vol. 43 No. 2 (2019)

Section

Articles

License

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