Simulated Air Traffic Control Environment Working Group (ATC)

Last Update: April 10, 2012

Chairman: Ted Chapman, FlightSafety International
APIM 09-005: ARINC Standard for the Simulation of the Air Traffic System (ATC) Environment (pdf, 25K)

The project’s intent is to produce a standard to define different levels of ATC simulation and what would be the requirements of each level. The document would generally follow along the lines of previous work done by the IATA Flight Simulator Working Group in 2002. The standard could be used as a current standard for those users and operators who wish to incorporate ATC simulation into their training environment using the current technology. The standard would also help both users and suppliers in the Flight Simulation industry to meet future simulated ATC environment requirements of ICAO 9625, Manual of Criteria for the Qualification of Flight Simulation Training Devices.

The standard will provide a clear reference for the FSTD Industry to develop and field simulated ATC systems, whether as stand-alone training systems, add-ons to existing training devices, or as an integrated part of a complete training device.

The proposed working group and document intends to:

• Aid suppliers in working to develop systems that include the features needed for training within the ATC environment rather than simply engineering and technology advances.
• Establish acceptable levels of instructor workload and interaction in order to ensure that the system is an aid to instruction rather than a distraction that ends up not being used due to its complexity.
• Define any required interfaces between an ATC simulation system and other components of the training device, such as the visual system, weather simulation system, and other surveillance systems and any other applicable systems.
• Define acceptable limits as to what can be expected to be included in these types of systems and what would be beyond the scope of required ATC simulation.
• Describe the requirements for maintainability and ease of update of such systems and how they can be reconfigured as the ATC environment changes.
• Allow assessors and regulators to determine if a proposed or offered system meets the requirements of ICAO 9625 for the appropriate level of approval.

The next meeting of the Simulated ATC Environment Working Group is January 17-18, 2011. For more information, please subscribe to the ATC mailing list by using the link at the bottom of this page.

Current Drafts:

Next Meeting Announcement:

Simulated Air Traffic Control (SATC) Working Group (pdf, 226K)
July 16-17, 2012; in Kastrup, Denmark
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Working Papers:

Last Meeting Report:

Simulated Air Traffic Control Environment (SATC) Working Group
January 17-18, 2012, in Atlanta, Georgia