EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This document describes the specifications of the simulators that will be used for the Main Task Evaluations at NLR. For those evaluations a high level of realism is required for the participating flight crews, while the realism at the working position of ATC officers must also be at an operational acceptable level.

The NG-ISS will be integrated with the Full Flight Simulator GRACE (Generic Research Aircraft Cockpit Environment), while the simulated environment that feeds the NG-ISS with Weather, Traffic and Terrain hazards needs customisation as well. The cockpit of GRACE will be configured for FLYSAFE close to the A320/A330 cockpit layouts with likewise flight handling characteristics. In order to give the flight crew control with the NG-ISS functions special panels as well as trackballs will be made available.

The Air Traffic environment will be simulated with NARSIM (NLR ATM Research Simulator). It comprises a Tower and Radar simulator with several working position for controllers. In this way all current ATC services are available for flights from the gate to cruise level and back. So-called Pseudo-pilots “fly” the other traffic. Transponder messages, as well as ADS-B and TIS-B will be incorporated to feed the NG-ISS with traffic info that is presented on the cockpit displays. Furthermore, as the Pseudo-pilots interact with the controllers as well, a realistic traffic environment will be established, including the R/T for the party-line effect. Visual contact with the other aircraft is possible as all the traffic positions are available in the Image generator for the Out the Window scene. New functions within the NG-ISS for taxi, runway and ASAS operations need to be incorporated at the Working Positions of the Controllers as well as of the pseudo-pilots. As Paris CDG has been chosen to be the airport of interest to evaluate traffic functions, the status of the visual database will be considered.

As the NG-ISS will employ on-board Terrain databases with enhanced functions, amongst other things the presentation on the cockpit displays, the terrain database for the simulators Out of the Window scene must have a high level of realism as well. The mountainous area of Innsbruck has been chosen to evaluate the Terrain functions of the NG-ISS. A new visual database with the Innsbruck airport and surrounding mountains will be developed.

The Weather will be simulated by a Weather Simulation Server. With weather scenarios measured some years ago as a basis, high realism can be achieved. The Weather data will come to the NG-ISS in two ways; through the airborne weather radar and through an emulated Ground Weather Processor (GWP) without implementing a real datalink. The GWP will comprise WIMS as well as Routine Weather products. The data of both info sources will be presented on the cockpit displays, Furthermore weather phenomena are shown in the Out the Window visual scene as well as incorporated with the aircraft dynamics (wind, windshear, turbulence) and possibly with other on-board systems (Outside Air temperature, Icing detector). It has been chosen to evaluate the WIMS and corresponding NG-ISS function at and around two airports: Paris CDG and Innsbruck.

This document will determine what is available at the NLR simulators and then focus on all the customisation aspects to enable the FLYSAFE evaluations.

For further information please contact:
Mr. Adri Marsman: amarsman@nlr.nl
or Mr. Wilfred Rouwhorst: rouwh@nlr.nl