air traffic control simulators - airways | new zealand's ...€¦ · radar simulation air...

air TraFFic conTrol simulaTors a PracTical guidE To Purchasing ThE righT simulaTor For your organisaTion

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Air TrAffic conTrol SimulATorSA prActicAl guide

ThE comPlExiTiEs oF simulaTor Purchasing

InmakingapurchasingdecisionforapieceofequipmentascomplexasanATCsimulator,anorganisationneedstonavigatethroughasignificantvolumeofconflictingadvertisingmaterialandtechnicallanguage.

Often,asimulatorispurchasedbymanagementortechnicalpersonnelwithoutafullunderstandingofitsteachingoroperationalrequirements,orbytrainingpersonnelwithoutafullunderstandingofthetechnicalaspectsofmanagingandmaintainingsuchsystems.

Thisguidehasbeendesignedtohelporganisationssuccessfullynavigatethebuyingprocess.

Quitesimply,theANSPneedstofirstlyunderstanditsownrequirements,sothatitcanapplythesetothetenderdocumentsitreceives.Whatistheexpectedpurposeofthesimulator,andwhydoestheorganisationneedit? Whatshoulditdo?Howwillitbeimplementedandmaintainedduringitsoperationallife?Andmostimportant ofall,whatwillitcost?

ThE EssEnTial Training Tool

Awell-designedAirTrafficControl(ATC)TrainingSimulatorsubstantiallyreducestrainingandoperationalcoststhroughimprovedtrainingandratingtimes.Italsoprovidesforon-goingstudiesallowingstudentstoenhancetheirskillsandlearninreal-worldsituations.

ThisguidehasbeendevelopedtoassistANSPsinobtainingaqualitytrainingtoolthatmeetstheorganisation’sobjectivesandhelpsdevelopnewrecruitsintosafe,talentedandeffectiveAirTrafficControllers.

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Whatis itfor?

Whyisitneeded?

Whatshoulditdo?

Whatisthecostofownership?

Howwillthetechnologybe

implementedandmaintained?


whaT is ThE simulaTor For?

Thereareprincipallytwodifferentusesforasimulator:thetrainingofnewrecruits(ab-initiotraining)andadvancedATCtraining. Thetrainingofnewrecruits(ab-

initiotraining),whichrequiresasolutiontoteachATCbasics.TrainingunderICAO051-055coursesrequirestheabilitytousetheANSP’slocalprocedurestotrainiftheICAOcurriculumrecommendationsaretobefollowed. AdvancedtrainingofratedAirTraffic

Controllersrequirestheabilitytodelivertrainingwithlocalproceduresandalsosimulatetheirlocalenvironment.

ItisthereforeessentialthatanysimulationconformstobothICAOstandardsandtheproceduresasdefinedintheapplicableAeronauticalInformationPublication(AIP).TheAIPandassociatedairspacestandardsareaCivilAviationAuthoritymandatoryrequirement,andsotheANSPneedstheabilitytocreateordevelopATCtrainingfortheintendedenvironment.

A simulator must replicate local AIP requirements

Manysimulatorsdocreateasimulated25–50nauticalmilearea.Howeverintoday’sATCenvironment,theairspaceismadeupofinterconnectingsectorsthatneed

tobelinked.Iftrainingrequirementsgobeyondasinglesector,orifperformancebasednavigationisafactor,thensimulationofthefullFlightInformationRegionbecomesamandatoryfeature.ATCequipmentshowstrafficinadjoiningsectorssothatATCscanmakedecisionsaroundtheboundaries.Forgreaterrealismandtrainingvaluesimulationshouldallowtrainingacrossallofthesectorsandthedesignoftrafficflows.

why is ThE simulaTor nEEdEd?

Thereareavarietyofsimulatorsonthemarket,withvaryingfunctionalityfordifferentpurposes.Itisimportanttofirstdefinetheorganisation’stechnicalaviationtrainingrequirementssothesimulatorpurchasedmeetsthoserequirements.Oneexampleisthe‘competency’ofsituationalawareness.

mEasurEmEnT oF siTuaTional awarEnEss

ThisimportantcompetencydifferentiatespeoplewhowillsucceedasATCsfromthosewhowillnot.Crucially,however,mostsimulatordesignsdonotprovidetheabilitytomeasureorenhanceastudent’ssituationalawareness.

Inatowerenvironment,situationalawarenessincludesscanningthe

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environmentformovingobjectsandidentifyingenvironmentalchangestoplanandmanagethetrafficflow.

Two-dimensionalsimulationinthisenvironmentprovidesproceduraltrainingonly,whichhassomevalue,butdoesnotcaterforthemostimportantelementofsituationalawareness.

3Dsimulationonafewscreenssetupinfrontofthestudentsalsofailstoaddressthisobjective.Itdoesnotallowthestudenttoeffectivelyscanwhatisinfrontofthem,ortomentallyvisualiseandconfirmthetruepositionofanobject.

Ideally,simulatordesignshouldprovidecontrollerswiththeabilitytoscanandviewtrafficexactlyastheywouldinarealtower.

simulaTor caPabiliTiEs

TowEr simulaTor

Simulatorsareproducedinavarietyofperspectives,andoftenthereisamisconceptionthata360⁰simulatormustbebest.However,unlesstheairporthasparallelrunwayswiththetowerlocatedinthemiddle,a360⁰simulatorisnotanabsolutenecessity,andalessexpensiveoptionmaybeequallyaseffective.

Fortowersimulators,thevisualisation andthesimulatorconfigurationshouldbebasedupontherelativelocationofthetowertotherunways,replicating

Simplifiedtowerandrunwayproceduresdefinewheremostaircraftwillbeseen.

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whatisobservedoutofthecontroltowerwindow.

Inatowerwheretheviewandpositionofthecontrollerisatthefrontofthetower,rearviewislimited,althoughthecontrollerwillstilloccasionallyhavetolookbehindthem.Whilethesimulatorsolutionshouldbeabletoquicklyrotatetheview(notingthatallsimulatorsactuallymodel360⁰internally),thepre-setdisplayforthemajorityofairfieldsonlyrequiresabout240⁰toprovidetherequiredleveloftraining.

Whendefiningsuchaneed,againtheAIPisextremelyusefulasitshowsthepositionsofthetowerandrunways.Italsoshowstheapproachanddepartureprocedureswhich,whencombined,providethemainrequirementforvisuals.Ifacontrollercannotseethedepartureandarrivalflightpathsfortherequireddistance(3NMto8NMdependingonprocedures)thenthetoolwillnotmeettheminimumrequirements.

Ifthetowerdoessitbetweenparallelrunways,a360⁰simulatorisusuallythebestoptionforthesamereasonsmentionedabove,i.e.theneedtovisuallyseetheprocedures(asfoundintheAIP).

The area to be seen, the size of the desk, and the style of training will

determine if the simulator should be room size (projection), LCD with a

defined area of display (such as 240°), or a desktop configuration

radar simulaTion

AirTrafficManagementSystems(ATM)areusedinmanydifferentwaysdependingonthesectorthattheyprovideinformationfor.

AController’sworkstationpositionismadeupoftheactualradardisplayandanumberofsupportingATMtools,suchasflightstrips,weatherinformation,andcommunicationspanels.

There are currently two types of simulators that provide radar

simulation: simulated and stimulated

“Simulated”simulatorsimitatetheradardisplay,whereasthe“Stimulated”varietyprovidesmessagingtoarealATMpositionusingrealATMequipment.Generallytheuseofrealequipmentislessflexiblefromatrainingperspectivethansimulatedequipmentbutprovidesahigherrealismvalue.Consequently,itismoreoftenusedbycurrent,ratedcontrollers.Simulatedequipmenttendstobeusedfornewtraineesandemergencytrainingwhereflexibilityisahigherrequirement,althoughnotalways.

TheANSPneedstoconsiderwhetheritrequiresbothsolutions-drivingrealATMtrainingpositionsaswellasusingacomputerbasedradarsimulator.

Bothsolutionsneedtobeabletodisplaytheenvironmentandtargets

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aswouldoccurinreality,andshouldincludeallofthetoolswhichcontrollersutilisetomanagetrafficinthelocalenvironment.

Mostcountrieshaveradarblankspotsduetoterrainfactorsornoradarcoverageareasatsomealtitudes,sotheANSPshoulddeterminewhetherthesimulatedcoverageofthesurveillanceareamatchestheenvironmentiftrainingincludesaircraftflyingin theseareas.

Ideally,radarscreensinthecontrolcentresare2000x2000pixels,althoughsignificantlysmallerinATCtowersduetospacerestrictions.Thelargerscreensizereduceseyestrainand30inchmonitorsat2560x1600pixelsprovidehigherqualityatamoreaffordableprice.

Therequirementforatowersimulatorwilloftenincludearequirementforradarsimulation, iftherearesurveillancescreensinthetowerorifthereistowerandgroundradar.

simulaTor dEsign

ATCtowersaretypicallydesignedwithhighwindowsandlocatedabovetheairfield,providingtheabilityfortheATCtolookdownontherunwayandtaxiwaysandwithaviewacrossthelandscapeandsky.

Thisdesignprovidestheultimatefunctionalityandvisibility,asit’swidelyunderstoodthatsituationalawarenessisoneofthekeyskillsforcontrolling

aircraft.Unfortunatelymanysimulators,especiallyLCDbasedsolutions,arenotbuilttomirrorwhatacontrolleractuallyseesorexperiencesintheirrealworkenvironment.

WhilethesmallscreenLCDsystemsstillhavesometrainingvalue,theabilitytoprovidesituationalawarenesstrainingisimpaired,makingthesimulatormoreofaproceduralorparttasktrainer. Asthesedonotreplicateanactualtowerenvironmenttheyareoflimitedvalueforadvancedtraining.

Toprovidefullvalue,thesolutionshouldcaterforallthetowervisualaspectsandbedesignedaccordingly.

True tower visuals – allowing full situational awareness

Theseobservationsextendbeyondaircraftinthesky.Theyalsoapplytoobjectsonthegroundandenvironmentalconditionssuchasweatherandsunspots.

Windowformatsaregenerallydescribedasbeingportrait(upright)orlandscape(wide).Towerwindowsbydefinitionareportrait(tallandnarrow),yetmanysimulatorsarebasedonlandscapedesigns.

PORTRAIT LANDSCAPE6


Adesignthatcapturesthetruewindowshapeinatowerwilloffermoretrainingvaluethanonethatdoesnot.WiththechangefrombasicskillstrainingtoreallifeATCtrainingenvironments,thisisanimportantdifferentiator.

Teachingsituationalawarenessdictatesthesimulatordesignshouldbesimilartothatofanactualtowersothatwhenscanningforobjectsthesameexperienceisgeneratedasinatower.

PorTraiT VErsus

landscaPE

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air TraFFic conTrol Tools

Inatower,asetoftoolsarelocatedinfrontoftheController.Theserangefromclockstovisualrangeindicators.Inmoremoderntowers,thetoolsoftenincludelightingpanels,radardisplays,groundradardisplays,meteorologicaldisplays,andacommunicationspanel.Thenumberoftoolsneededaffectsthesizeofthedeskrequiredtofitthescreensforthesetools.Thesizeofthecontrollerdeskspaceplusthenumberofpositionshasasignificantimpactonsimulatordesignandtheroomspacerequiredforthesimulator.

Itisnotoftenthatalltowersinacountryarethesame,eitherduetocostorsimplybecausemosttowershavedifferentenvironmentalelementsandtraffic,andthereforedifferenttoolsarerequiredforthecontrollers.Emulating

theequipmentfunctionsontotouchscreenswithinthesimulatorisaneffectivesolutiontothisissue.Theresultisthatwhenthetowerlocationisloadedontothesimulator,thesetofcontrollerpanelscanbedisplayedinasimilarlayouttotherealtower.Fromatrainingperspective,havingthecommontoolshelpswithassessingthestudent’smulti-taskingabilitieswhencontrollingtheairspace.

A panel builder function allows the trainer to create and update a variety

of equipment and tools associated with simulator changes

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Determinethetoolsrequiredfortraining


EnVironmEnT

Theenvironmentcouldbedescribedaswhatacontrollerseeswhentheylookoutthecontroltowerwindow.Buildings,hills,navigationsitesandotherobstaclesareallimportantreferencepointsusedbycontrollerstomanagetheirairspaceandseparatetraffic.

Forexample,MuscatAirportinOmanhasatowerbuildinginthenearbycityandanislandthatcanbeseenfromthetower.Thesevisualaidstellthecontrollerwhatthevisibilitymarginsare,eventhoughtheymayhaveinstrumentstodothis.Inthiscaseitisimportanttosimulateobjectsoutsidetheairportzoneandinsomecasesalongwayfromtheairport.

Itisextremelyimportantthattheseenvironmentalelementsareincorporatedintothesimulatorforoperationaltraining.Inthiscase,aphoto-realmodel,onethatusesdigitalphotostakenfromthecontroltowertocreatetheenvironmentalmodel,willproducethemostaccurateresults.

dynamic wEaThEr modElling

WeatherisanelementofAirTrafficControlthatholdsextremelyhighimportance,butisoftenoverlookedasanaspectofsimulation.Weathercontrolstherunwayinuseandtheflightpathstobeused.Weatheraffectstheentireflightplan.

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ObservedBuildingArrived

dynamic wEaThEr

modElling


Oneofthemaintasksforacontrolleristomonitorthechangesinweatherovertimeandtoplanforwhenthatweathermaystarttoaffectthetraffic.

In the real world, weather moves from one location to another and

slowly evolves

Mostsimulatorsallowthetrainertoswitchonrainorsnow,selectacloudtypebackdroporadjusttheweathermanually.However,simulatorswhichprovidetruedynamicweatherreflectingallaspectsofhowweatherbuildsanddissipates,allowforaccuratemeasuresofATCcompetencyintherealworld.

Weathercellsatgroundlevelcoveringpartsofanairportarereferredtoassurfaceweather.Windontherunwayatsomeairportshasadifferentbearingateachend,oftenduetothesurroundingterrain.Windslowlyincreasesordecreasesinintensityandgustsandmoveslocationovertime,whichaffectstheselectionoftherunwayinuse.

Weatherinasimulatorshouldalsobedynamic,changingitselementsandlocationovertimeand,ifcompetencybasedtrainingistobeconducted,itshouldbepartoftheexerciselessonplan,ifnotpartoftheexerciseitself.

Weather does not simply switch on and off, and so effective training

needs to simulate weather changing over time

Instructorcontrolledweatherpanelsareusefulintraining,butusuallyonlyforab-initiotrainingsodifferentweatherconditionscanbedemonstratedtoastudent.Afterthispointintraining,trulydynamicweatheriswhatthecontrollerwillbedealingwithfortherestoftheirworkinglife.

EasE oF usE

Easeofuseequatesonadailybasistohoweasythesimulatoristousefortwokeyfunctions;pilotingandexercisecreation.

PiloTing

Pilotingistheabilitytoeasilyplaceanaircraftwhereexpected,whenexpected.Essentiallyhowwellanexerciseiscreateddeterminesthelevelofpilotingrequired.

Withaircraft,evenwhenusinginstrumentflightrules(IFR),notwoflightsarelikelytobeidentical. Toincreasesimulatorrealism,asolutionisrequiredthatallowsforpilotindividualismwithintheflightrules.

Exercisesareessentiallyacollectionoftrafficconflictsthatvisuallystimulateacontrollertodosomething.Simulatorpilotsthereforeneedtheabilitytocreatevisualstimulifortrainingcontrollers.

Oftenthereisadesiretoremovepilotsforalternativemethodslikevoice

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recognitionandresponse.Inpracticethisisnotaverysuccessfulalternative,withtheexceptionofdemonstrationsandverybasicexercises.

Ifthepilotingtoolisdesignedwell,itcanprovidetrainingbenefitsitself.Agoodthreedimensionalpilotscreenallowspilotstoviewtheproceduresandseewhatflightpathsareplanned.Fromatrainingperspective,thisallowstraineestoseeproceduresandtheseparationinthreedimensions.

Ifthesimulatoriseasytouse,pilotswillbepilotingtheexceptionstotheflightplan,whichinturngreatlyreducesthepilotworkloadandreducestheneedforasmanypilots.

With exceptional systems, trainees can self-pilot for others with

minimal training

3Dpilotingisbestsuitedtotowertrainingenvironments.Theseexercisesrequirevisualpromptstobeprovidedtothetrainee,andthepilotcanseethatthesewilloccuraheadoftime.

3Dpilotingforradartraininghasasimilaradvantage,becausethepilotcanseewhattheaircraftwillactuallydo,whileradarscreens(2D),oftenusedforpiloting,donotshowthis.Displayingthe3Dandradarviewforpilotscanenhancethisaspectinradarexercises.

Visualpromptsprovidealotmoreinformationandtrainingvaluethanaradarinterfaceforpiloting.

3Dpiloting–enhancestraining

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maniPulaTing aircraFT and VEhiclEs

A good system should provide an override capability to allow aircraft

to be re-positioned during an exercise if requested

Pilotingshouldbebasedonthenormalperformanceoftheaircraftwithlimitationsbasedonthataircraft’smaximumandminimumperformanceparameters.

Allobjectsneedtobeabletobemanipulatedastheywouldbeinaliveairspaceorairport.Often,however,simulationsystemshavemanyrestrictions,suchasaninabilitytodriveavehicleanywhereontheairfield. Thebestsimulatorsallowtheabilitytomoveobjectives,suchasvehicles,anywhereontheairfield.

AnANSPcanalsoidentifyitsrequirementsforasimulatorbynotingcommonATCinstructionstoaircraftorvehicles.

Mostairportsdorunwaychecksonadailybasis,soacallsuchas“Tech1-vacaterunwayimmediately”iscommonplace.Thecorrectpilotingistodriveonthegrassasafedistancefromtherunwayandwaituntilgivenclearancetoresumethechecks.

Anotherrequirementistheabilitytodivertfromcompliancewiththeclearancerulesontheground,suchasrespondingtoanaircraftwhichfailedtostopatastopbar.Thesimulatorsolution

shouldreplicatewhatanobjectonthegroundmightdo.

Objectsonthegroundneeddynamicgroundandflightpathcreationandshouldnotberestrictedonlytotaxiwaysandrunways.

Thereareseveralothercommondirectionsgivenbycontrollerswhichalsoshouldbesimulated.Thesecallswillbedefinedbyterrain,airspacedesign,aircrafttype,trafficmixandotherelementswhichessentiallymakeuptheairspace.Thesolutionmustcaterforavarietyofairtraffic,includinggeneralaviation,commercial,andmilitary.

Thetestofanysolutionistheabilityto‘fly’theterminalairspacecorrectlyasitisasmallsizeandnormallyhashightrafficvolumes.Thesolutionmustincludethefullmissedapproachprocedureandtheabilitytochangetheproceduremid-flightifrequested.

The simulator should have the toolset to quickly remodel the airspace

design and procedures

GiventhatanAIPchangeseveryfewmonthswithregularupdates,proceduresalsoneedtobeeasilychanged.Thesimulatorshouldhavethetoolsettoquicklyremodeltheairspacedesignandprocedures,andtheabilitytotrainonthenewairspaceandtheoldatthesametime.

Whilebeingabletoflyproceduresisessential,soistheabilitytomanipulatethesimulatorandaltertheflightpathto

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dowhateveraircraftandvehiclesmightdointheairspace.

using VoicE rEcogniTion

Oftendiscussedasanoptiontoreducetheneedfor,oreliminate,simulatorpilots,theuseofVoiceRecognitionsoftwareinsimulatorscancausemoreissuesthanitsolves. Thesoftwareusuallyperformsadequatelyforasimpleexerciseordemonstration,butithasnotyetmaturedtoatechnicallevelthatsuitsthecomplexitiesofATCtraining.

Usingstudentsaspilots,ratherthanvoicerecognition,increasesthetrainingexperienceforthosestudentsandalsoreducestrainingcosts.Pilotingsystemsshouldhavetheabilitytobetaughtquickly,showthefullflightprocedurein3D,andpromoteteamworkbetweenpilots,similartothatfoundbetweencontrollers.

VoiceRecognitioncanbeusefulforself-practiseinsomelesscomplexscenarios.ANSPsconsideringavoicerecognitionpackageshoulddosubstantialresearch,toensurethatitmeetsexpectations.

ExErcisE crEaTion

ThecreationofstudentexercisesisanimportanttaskforATCinstructors,buttheabilitytodosovariesimmenselybetweensimulators.Somesolutionsrequiretheinstructortoaskthe

manufacturertocreatetheexercise,whichtakesadayormore,whileothersprovidetheinstructorwiththeabilitytoeasilycreateandeditexercisesinamatterofminutes.

Simulators should provide the instructor with the ability

to easily create and edit exercises in a matter of minutes

Asimulatorwhichrequirestheinstructortoreverttothemanufacturertobuildnewexercisesbecomesanexpensiveandtimeconsumingtrainingtool.Itusuallyindicatesasimulatorbuiltonadatabaseofstrictrulesthatoftenmakeitdifficulttopilotanduse,andonewhichisinflexibleinmeetinglikelyfuturechangesoftheairspaceutilisation.

Asolutionshouldbeabletocreateanexerciseofanysortinminutes.Thisrequiresthecreationofconflictsinanypartoftheairspaceorgroundthatwillstimulatethesensesofthecontrollerbeingtrained,andgoesmuchfurtherthansimplycopyingaflightplandatabaserowandrenamingtheflight.

Duringtrainingitishighlylikelythatatsomestageaninstructorwillwanttomakeamodification,eitheratthetimeoraftercompletion.Thisrequiresinstructorstobeabletoeasilyandquicklymodifyandcreateexercises.

Intowerexercises,theabilitytoscrollbackandforwardintimetowatch


thetrafficpatternsandconflicts,andwhatthecontrollerwillsee,is essentialtovalidatingtheexercise. Therequirementtopreviewinafullsizesimulatorreducesthevaluethatcan beobtainedfromtheinvestment. Thesimulatorshouldbefullybookedforstudentusesoexercisecreationshouldbeabletooccuratanydesktopthatisavailable.

Exercisebydefinitionisthecreationofanumberofconflictpointsthatacontrollerismeasuredagainsttoseethattheycansolvetheproblemcompetently.Theexercisebuildershouldallowthevisualview(3Dfortowers)tobeviewedatanypointoftheexercise(3DoverTime=4Dexercisecreation).

Theeasieritistocreateanexercisethatcanmeasurecapabilityandperformance,themoreusablethesolutionwillbeandthemoretrainingvalueitwillprovide.

conTrolling an ExErcisE

Exercisecontrolissignificanttothelearningexperience.Theabilitytogobackwardsandforwardstoanypointinanexerciseandstartfromthatpoint,ortoaddorremoveaircraftorobjects,whilelearningandtryingdifferentsolutionstotheproblem,isapowerfullearningtool.Studentsusingthesetoolswillquicklybuildtheirskillsandraisetheirlevelofexpertise.

Aninstructorneedstobeabletomeasurestudentcompetencybasedonacontrolledexerciselevel.Theleaduptothisleveloftestingrequiresflexibilitytotakeatraineefromtheircurrentsetofabilitiestoapointthatthecompetencymeasurescanbeachieved.Thisrequiresaleveloffunctionalityinthesimulatorthatallowstheinstructor toteachandadjusttheirteachingscenariostofitthatofthesituation.

SomeoftheabilitiesinthefollowingtablemaybelimitedifachosensimulatorusesrealATCsystems,asmostATCsystemsaredesignedforshowingthepresentstateandoftencannotsupportarewindfunction.Forfullyemulatedorsimulatedenvironmentstheseabilitiesshouldbeavailabletogiveinstructorsthemaximumflexibilitytoconducttraining.

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oPTimum ExErcisE conTrol FuncTionaliTy

sPEEd Abilitytocontrolanexerciserunspeedandplaybackspeedatafasterorslowerratethannormal.

run Abilitytostartanexerciseinliveandplaybackmodefromanypointintime.Aplaybacksessioncanbestartedatanypointasalivenewtrainingsession.

FasT Forward

Theabilitytomovefromthecurrenttimeinanexercisetoafuturetimeperiodinliveorplaybackmodewhilewatchingthesimulationatafasterspeed.

rEwind Theabilitytogobackintimefromthecurrentexercisetoreviewandrunagainfromthatpointduringaliveexercise,andtheabilitytorewindaplaybackofanexercisefromthecurrentpointtoapreviouspointintime.Anewlivesessionshouldbeabletobestartedfromthispointintime.Duringrewindthesystemshouldbeviewableasitrewinds.

PausE/conTinuE

Theabilitytohaltanexerciseandplaybackforalengthyperiod,thencontinueagainwhenready.

bookmark Theabilityduringaliveorplaybacksessiontotagapointintime,providingtheabilitytoquicklyreturntothateventtime.

go To Theabilitytoenteratimeordefinedbookmarktohavetheliveexerciseorplaybackreturntothattimeintheexercise.

rEcording Thesavingofaliveexercisetoamediawhereitcanbearchivedandplayedback.Allsimulatorsessionsshouldbeautomaticallyrecordedwiththeoptionofretainingthemforfutureuse.Recordingshouldincludealllivesynchronisedchangestothesimulatedtraffic,equipmentandvoice.

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imPlEmEnTaTion rEquirEmEnTs

usEr Training

Thekeytothesuccessfulimplementationofasimulatoristhequalityofthetrainingsuppliedtotheinstructingandtechnicalsupportstaff.EffectivetrainingallowstheANSPtobecomeself-sufficientinitsuseoftheequipment,andprovidesaquickerreturnoninvestment.

Thecostofthesimulatorshouldincludethetrainingnecessaryforin-housestafftocompetentlydelivertrainingandmaintainthesystem. Itshouldalsoincludeatleastoneweekperannumofqualityassurancewithaspecialistonsitetomonitorskillsandretrainifnecessary.

The key to successful in-house training is also the timing.

Using a solution as soon as you are trained is likely to have a better

result than using the solution a couple of months later

The reason is simply when something is new and you do not practice it, you lose a lot of the skills quickly. Timing of ANSP training is critical

AnANSPlookingtopurchaseasimulatorshouldobtainacopyofthevendor’strainingplan,whichwill

containexercisetrainingcomponents,timedtopreparepersonnelforfirsttimerealuse.Timingoftrainingiscritical.Becausemostmanufacturersdonotactuallyusethesolutionthemselves,trainingplansoftenmaynottranslatewellintopractice.AtimelineplanforimplementationshouldbeprovidedtoallowtheANSPtodeterminehowtrainingisprovidedrelativetousage,andtoshowwhetherthemanufacturerunderstandshowtotransitionsystemsintothetrainingenvironment.

simulaTor caPaciTy

Simulatorshavefinitecapacityintermsofdailyusageandthenumberofpersonsthatcanbetrainedatonce.DependinguponthestructureofanANSP’strainingregime,eachtraineeshouldideallyspendsometimeinasimulatoronanytrainingday.

Asimulatorcanhavemultiplepositions.Forradartraining,themaximumnumberofpositionsisgenerallytwoandfortowertraininggenerallyfour,buteachpositionperformsadifferentrole.Trainingforaroleincludesasetamountoftimeforeachlesson,withasetnumberoflessonspercourse.

TheANSPneedstoconsiderthetrainingneed(numberoftrainees),thenumberoflessonsrequiredandthetrainingtimeavailabletodeterminethenumberoftrainingpositions(andsimulators)tomeetcapacity.

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cosT oF ownErshiP

AnATCsimulatoristrainingtechnologyatitsbestandmostuseful.Buyingasimulator,therefore,requiressomeunderstandingoftechnologyandhowitwillaffectthelifeandtherunningcostsofthetrainingsystem.

Allassetsneedtobemaintainedandsupported.Hiddenoron-goingsupportcostscansometimesrepresentalargercosttotheorganisationthantheoriginalpurchaseprice,soitisimportanttoidentifythesebeforepurchase.

Dailyrunningcostsandlifetimecosts makeuptheTotalCostofOwnership(TCO)andshouldbebrokendownfortheANSPbythemanufacturer.

Basingthepurchaseonatenyearlifespan,on-goingcostsarelikelytoinclude:

Software:Whatistheon-goingannualsupportorsoftwarerentalandwhatdoesthisinclude?

Updates:Whatdoesitcosttoaddanewequipmentpanelortoupdatethegraphics?

Enhancements:Intenyearstheoperationalenvironmentwillchange.Canthesimulatoradapttomeetthenewtrainingrequirements?

Hardware:Howoftendoeseachcomponentneedtobereplaced?

Consumables:Whichitemswearoutorareconsumedregularly?

OtheritemsthatmanynotbefactoredintotheTCOcouldbe:

Training Installation Testing Commissioning

Simulatortendersshouldprovideadetailedbreakdownoftheequipment,training,maintenanceandupgradecostsforitsfulllifeexpectancy.TheANSPshouldconsiderthecostofretainingspecialisttechniciansonstaffifrequired,comparedtothecostofthevendormanagingupgrades,maintenanceandtraining.

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ProducethehigheststandardofATCs,atlesscost,withoutstanding

functionality


summary

ThepurchaseofasimulatortotrainfutureAirTrafficControllers,andtoupskillexistingstaff,isoneofthemostimportantdecisionsanANSPwillmakefortraining.Thesearenewgenerationpiecesofequipment,designedtotraininawaythatwasunheardofeventenyearsago.Theinvestmentissignificant,andthereisagreatdealtoconsider.

Startingwithasolidunderstandingofhowtheorganisationwouldliketoundertakeitstrainingisthekeytosuccess.Toooften,solutionsareofferedwhichsimplydon’tmatchtheneedsoftheANSP,andwhichwillfailtomeettrainingrequirementsonceinstalled.

airways – ThE world’s FirsT Fully commErcial ansP

ThisPracticalGuidetoSimulatorPurchasinghasbeenproducedbyAirwaystoensurethatANSPsaroundtheworldareaseducatedaspossibleaboutthetechnologicalopportunitiesavailableinthesimulatormarket.Wearerecognisedleadersinthisfield,havingspentthelastdecaderesearching,developing,andproducingabestinmarketproduct.

Airwaysisaworld-leadingcommercialANSP,operatinginNewZealandasaState-OwnedEnterprise,andprovidingservicesthroughout34millionsquarekilometresofairspace.Inaddition,weprovideATCandengineeringtraining,andwedeliverairtrafficmanagement,Flightyieldrevenuemanagementsolutions,navigationservicesandconsultancyinmorethan65countries.

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Photoquality,4Dgraphicsprovideareal-worldexperience


ToTal conTrol simulaTors

DesignedbythespecialistAirwaysteam,andtestedovermanyyearsinourownorganisation,TotalControlisnowinusearoundtheworld,providingeaseofuseandfast-trackedtraining.

Total Control has been developed by ATC instructors and training

specialists

Pilotscanbetrainedtousethesystemin12hours,andinstructorscandesignexercisesorintroducedynamicweatherpatternsinamatterofminutes.

TotalControloffersunparalleledrealismandgraphicfidelitysupportedbya3Dengine,withsophisticated,real-worldsimulation.

Ourspecialistteamareexperiencedinidentifyingourclient’sneeds,andwe’llworkwithyoutoensureweprovidethebest,andmostcost-effectivesolutiontoprovideyouwithhighertrainingsuccessratesatalowercost.

OurTotalControlteamareavailabletoprovideadditionaladviceonsimulatorpurchases,andtodiscussyourrequirementstoday.

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Weofferscalable,flexibleoptions,includingtablet,desktop,LCD,180°,andfull360°simulators

Email [email protected] PhonE +64 3 357 2831 Fax +64 3 358 1690

airways.co.nz

air traffic control simulators - airways | new zealand's ...€¦ · radar simulation air...

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