Originally Posted by
Herod
Not a parameter, but a scenario. "Bumbly" cloud ahead. Not a nasty cb, but one that will throw the aircraft around a bit. Two options:
1. fly through it - good for the bean-counter's economics, since minimum flight time.
2. Fly around it - good for not scaring passengers, spilling drinks etc. What is the cost to the company of "I wouldn't fly with x airline again. We had a terrible time; my wife (husband?) was terrified."
Program a computer for that one.
Very simple, in fact an area where a computer can be consistent rather than random.
Human captains will all produce different results with this scenario. Everybody has their own triggers.
The computer could just be given a sliding scale, the equivalent of a commercial index for the day which decides exactly how much chop is acceptable vs the time delay.