The New NavAids Simulator - The Practitioners' Tool for ATSEP and ATCO

SkyRadar introduces the new NavAids Simulator, focusing on ILS, DME and VOR. It is a tool to qualify and train air traffic electronics personnel & Air Traffic Controllers.

Two years ago, I intended to fly to Luxembourg. However the aircraft did not get landing permission as the ILS system was down. We were deviated to Brussels Airport and driven back by bus. My initially planned 1h30 flight turned into a 4 hour trip. The good thing: we were never in risk and the staff at Luxembourg airport rapidly fixed the problem.

But it illustrates the impact that downtimes of critical infrastructure can have. Imagine a bigger airport like Dubai, Heathrow, Istambul or New York. Minutes after such a system went down, the sky will be packed with aircraft, either waiting for landing or deviation.

Rapid recovery is crucial. But more than that, the proper calibration and the preventive maintenance of these systems is very important. 

NavAids Qualification Systems in the Market

Why did SkyRadar develop a NavAids training simulator? Isn't the market saturated?

What we saw is the following: the main solutions in the market are pretty academic and theoretical. They also cover purely ILS (Instrument Landing System), but do not touch DME (Distance Measuring Equipment), nor VOR (VHF Omni-Directional Range).

Our goal is to provide a seamless solution which covers all three systems.

It shall allow ATCOs to rapidly understand the technology and to use it effectively (and of course to react in cases of irregularities or down-times).

For ATSEP it shall provide the work-bench to learn and understand the technology but also to get skilled on analyzing the system (technology and antenna fields), rapidly finding errors or discalibrations, and to rapidly fix problems.

How is the Simulator Structured?

• NavAids Module 1: ILS Antenna patterns and dependency on antenna array
• NavAids Module 2: DME and VOR antenna patterns and dependency on antennas
• NavAids Module 3: Electronic and electrical circuits in ILS / DME / VOR systems
• NavAids customized modules: specific extensions customized on your NavAids system and specific requirements can be added on project-basis.

The simulator shows the interdependencies between antenna array and the antenna fields.

The simulator provides all important diagrams such as

• CSB and SBO course diagrams
• CSB and SBO clearance diagrams
• Phase diagrams
• Course DDM, SDM and Rf field strength diagrams
• Clearance DDM, SDM and Rf field strength diagrams
• Capture effect fields DDM and SDM diagrams

Module 1 only focuses on ILS. Module 2 adds the DME and VOR part. Module 3 shows the interdependencies between the electronic systems and the antenna fields.

The Technology behind the NavAids Simulator

The simulator is based on SkyRadar's FreeScopes concept. It can be seamlessly integrated with other products by SkyRadar such as the NextGen Pulse Radar, the PSR, the FMCW or the PSR/SSR simulator.

The system is completely plug-and-play. A simulation server and the private cloud server will be installed in your academy. Students can learn locally through the academy network. But they can also access the simulator remotely, for instance in the frame of on the job training. The User-Interface design is modular and freely arrangeable. The modules are upgradable and have interfaces for various third party systems. 

During the design we had lots of interactions with  aviation academies.

The needs we were confronted with and which led to the structure are

• Limited time available to teach many students. So buying expensive equipment that can be used by only one student at a time does not do the job. We allow many students to learn concurrently and even remotely. So that the lecturers and seminar leaders can easily integrate them into given time slots.
  
  
• Qualifying and educating independent thinkers, reaching highest learning goals. Just by watching, a student will not be enabled to apply, analyze or synthesize. He or she needs to work on it, to experiment, to compare various scenarios. The traditional purely instructor-led training alone will not bring the highly skilled professionals to answer on today's challenges.
  The experiment oriented simulator responds on that.
  
  
• Attracting Millennials and motivating High Performers. Academies and ICAO need to attract the best-in-breed millennials and to motivate high performers. But in competitive times as today, that does not work with dusty old-fashioned equipment. Today's world is connected, modern and with an awesome user experience. This is what we promise.
  
  
• Limiting the budget. Unfortunately budget is still tight. There are more students needed, without having more budget or space available. The NavAids simulator follows SkyRadar's approach of affordability.

What Next

SkyRadar offers a modular NavAids simulator for ATCO and ATSEP, dedicated to be installed in Aviation Academies. The simulator allows for a targeted problem-based learning.

Talk to us and see how the solution fits into your infrastructure, academy goals and budget.