Full-flight simulation with a realistic air traffic control environment is becoming a reality following a link-up between CAE and Melbourne-based Adacel, which specialises in ATC simulation.
The Canada-based simulator manufacturer, CAE, has developed the system in reaction to numerous airline and regulator demands, for flight simulation with realistic on the ground and in the air ATC environment, including the need for high-quality line orientated flight training (LOFT).
Dubbed CAE True Environment, the system is compatible with CAE 5000 and 7000 Series full-flight simulators, and its Simfinity training devices.
In most simulators, the instructor pilot has to double as a mock air traffic controller while managing the operational and systems scenarios with which the crew are to be presented.
The company says the new system "offers a dynamic and comprehensive ATC environment [providing] high volume air and ground traffic linked to realistic and context-specific voice communications".
Teamed with Adacel, CAE has employed speech recognition and text-to-speech technology that enable the pilots to communicate with simulated entities such as other aircraft, airport controllers and airport ground vehicles.
"What pilots say and hear is fully correlated with what they see in the simulator's visuals," says CAE.
CAE says the motivation to create the new system comes from several emerging demands, including the European Joint Aviation Authority requirement for an ATC environment simulation in multi-crew pilot licence training devices.
Other trends include the recent strengthening of International Civil Aviation Organisation English-language proficiency standards, global pilot shortages, which will lead to an increasing proportion of pilot training being carried out in flight-training devices - particularly in China and India.
Additionally the need for airport familiarisation and high-quality LOFT and in the general aviation arena, training pilots to fly very light jets.
CAE says China Eastern, Japan Airlines and Qantas have all ordered 7000 Series Boeing 787 full-flight simulators, and all are to be equipped with True Environment.
Meanwhile, Lufthansa Flight Training is integrating Adacel's ATC technology into a CAE-built Airbus A319 full-flight simulator and, over the next several months, Lufthansa flightcrews will use the ATC capabilities during recurrent training.
Related stories
- ATC: Looking after the UK's skies
- CAE meets training challenge
Source: FlightGlobal.com
