VIP - simulation meeting
Budapest, Oct 14, 2008
Ferihegy Airport, Eurocontrol - CRDS facilities
For those who forgot their acronyms: CRDS is CEATS Research Development Simulation; and CEATS is Central European Air Traffic Service
The scope of CRDS includes route & network optimization, support tools for ATC, and additional sectors. Members of CEATS are Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech. Italy and Austria left recently.
The main purpose of the VIP simulation is to investigate the impact of VLJ operations in terminal and en-route airspace. The main objectives are to assess the impact on safety, airspace capacity, and to assess possible integration problems. A particular focus is put on sequencing, separation and sector interfaces.
Tuesday morning, on a beautiful autumn day, the bus zips out of the center and arrives to the airport in just 20 minutes. Arriving at the CRDS center we were warmly greeted to a series of presentations introducing the day's subjects. You can find these presentations at www.eurocontrol.int/crds/ . The CRDS operates 46 simulations per year (19 model based, 27 real-time life-size).
The VIP simuation is set up in 2 separate rooms: one where the pilots operate several aircraft each, with 20 stations available. From this room a traffic of over 150 aircraft can be simulated by a small set of pilots. The pilots are certified pilots, air traffic controllers, or even flight enthusiasts that are capable of performing flight procedures. In the adjacent room, is an ATC center look-alike with 20 stations. We saw up to 13 controllers working simultaneously. The workplace of each controller is an exact full-size replica, with the addition of a little keyboard where the controller gives feed-back, indicating (on the prompt of a red light) whether his workload is currently very low, low, med, high, or very high. While we were observing the simulation, the workload of controllers was reduced, to allow them to dedicate time to us and explain what is happening in the airspace. The traffic simulations done in our presence shall not be accounted for in the simulations exercise.
The simulated airspace includes all levels (departures, arrivals, lower sector, upper sector) in the areas of Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest. Only the TWR is not implemented in the simulation. The traffic is represented by all the normally scheduled flights, plus 10% of additional aircraft which are VLJs on various missions. The choice of the simulation region, is to offer a variety of situations, significant to the typical VLJ operations. Vienna has cross-runway operations (tkof 29, ldg 34), same STAR & SID for all aircraft split over 3 sectors, high density of operations and Bratislava departures cross into its TMA. Budapest has parallel runways (31L, 31R) with an alternate SID on major dep track for turboprops, used here for VLJs. Bratilslava is a lower traffic density situation.
The simulated VLJs are ficticious aircraft built from manufacturers data, and other data collected and modeled by the aircraft modelling bureau of Eurocontrol in Paris. The models are the EA50, EA51, DJET, C510 (see table).
The VIP simulation, taking place from Oct 6 to Oct 17, will be evaluated in the coming weeks. A preliminary document will be completed by next December, and in January we shall have the complete report.
In the meeting following the simulation demonstration, we had a chance to discuss with all present and with the air traffic controllers.
While we shall clearly wait for the formal conclusions of the VIP team, here are some first impressions.
The VLJs are slower in all respects to regular airliners, but the effects on airspace sequencing are manageable without significantly increasing controller's workload. The critical factor is the touchdown speed, which requires VLJs to slow down much more than other jets. This results in an extra separation on final approach for, say, a 737 following an Eclipse. We observed typically an extra 3-4 miles required additional separation. On the other hand, a VLJ following an airliner will have increased separation for wake turbulence concerns. This lead to some comments suggesting different techniques of installing separate glide paths for VLJs.
On takeoff the seaparation with faster airliners following VLJs could easily be resolved with rate-of-climb restrictions.
A perception problem was also noticed by controllers, who were sometime surprised to see aircraft catching up with each other where they did not spot a VLJ in the midst of many other airliners. Some suggestions were made to make VLJs more substantial in the controller's display. This situation is especially critical to handle, at the exit of a sector. Once such a situation is detected, horizontal separation is most often a quick and easy fix.
Many other critical factors emerged, not from flight envelope issues, but rather from the institutional side, where legal, legislative, rulemaking and other formal issues are purported as hindering the air traffic flow. For instance, the training sillabi of VLJs require that pilots are trained to fly approaches at slow speeds. While a VLJ is tipically able to descend at 200kt or more, the certifcation standards don't allow for this to happen.
It appeared that all parties must work together and exchange information to enhance and speed the creation of rational regulations that are inevitable in the course of introduction of VLJs in the airspace.
A major reckoning by all present, is that the blackening of the skies will not happen, or at least it will not be as sudden as some have thought.
We must thank wholeheartedly the CRDS team, Alex Hendriks, Eugene O'Brien and all those that are actively helping us in the effort to operate VLJs.
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