at stand
@WATM22
In December 2020 we launched the Airways Knowledge Online (AKO) Virtual Academy to enable aviation students across the globe to engage and learn remotely in a virtual classroom environment. This included building a virtual learning studio to deliver instructor-led classes, and transitioning all courseware into a format suitable for online delivery.
Since AKO’s launch we have developed a range of aviation courses accessible via AKO, utilising the latest cloud-based digital learning and engagement technologies – courses that can be delivered virtually by an instructor, can be accessed via students in their own time and at their own pace. From our previous research, we knew it was important for our students to have access to on-demand interactive content, and this is what we have delivered via AKO.
Our library of AirBooks interactive resources is an integral part of AKO - we have boosted the volume our AirBooks libraries from 24 to 54 books to support our range of AKO courses, and we’ve developed an e-commerce storefront via Shopify to enable our customers to quickly and easily purchase these resources online. Now, more than 18 months on, AKO is in use by air navigation service providers (ANSPs) globally as they embrace the new normal for training in this post Covid-19 environment, and our AKO course offerings are expanding to meet demand.
There have been many challenges along the way as we have transformed our training business to deliver courses remotely. Instructors and students, often working across different time zones have needed to adjust to this new method of teaching and learning. While the concept of remote learning is not new for Airways, with the introduction of AirBooks e-learning resources seven years ago, our industry has taken more time to adapt to virtual training.
The Covid-19 pandemic fast-tracked the air traffic management industry’s need to embrace digital learning over traditional classroom based face-to-face learning. Our instructors have learned to transition their teaching style and resources for virtual delivery – they’ve learned to use interactive learning tools such as a digital whiteboard, AirBooks, virtual quizzes and video across multiple screens, to deliver training virtually in an engaging way.
Students have also needed to adjust to this new way of learning. Strong internet connection is critical for virtual learning, and students have learned that more self-motivation and discipline is required in a virtual classroom environment as they may be required to complete some tasks on their own without the physical presence of instructor and fellow students.
Online examinations and assessments have been another significant change for students undertaking virtual training with Airways – proctoring software is a critical element to virtually assessing students, confirming their identity and monitoring their activity as they undertake assessments online.
We are grateful to have worked alongside regulators such as the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in the UAE, who have supported the certification of Airways’ virtual training. Students from GCAA have embraced virtual training – A GCAA cohort was the first group of students through our virtual AKO doors, studying 051 Licensing Subjects in the last quarter of 2020. All students passed their exams with excellent results, despite the challenges and disruptions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
We’re pleased to have taught students who couldn’t have otherwise participated in training due to global travel and border restrictions. Many have successfully completed courses that have enabled them to advance their ATC careers in areas such as incident investigation, and our virtual English rater training has meant that controllers were able to continue to undertake regular compulsory English testing throughout the pandemic.
The beginning of a new way of teaching and learning
Our industry research and insights told us that ANSPs globally were searching for more cost-effective and flexible ways of providing ATC training, with increased spending constraints, decreasing revenues and social distancing requirements all being a factor. AKO has delivered on this, however this is just the beginning.We have learned that great things can be achieved by tackling challenges head-on and believing in our people and processes. Physical distance from our customers is no longer a barrier and the AIL team is embracing this new way of working.
Head of ATS Training, Airways International Ltd
Enter Covid-19 which caused rapid and unprecedented disruption to global aviation. With lockdowns and travel restrictions in place, students could no longer travel to Airways’ New Zealand facilities for ATC training, and the global travel of staff to meet with customers and conduct ATC training and simulator installations ground to a halt.
Our team needed to innovate and were up for the challenge. We pivoted and reimagined our business from a predominantly face-to-face delivery model to fully remote, to deliver contracted work and keep our people employed.
In December 2020 we launched the Airways Knowledge Online (AKO) Virtual Academy to enable aviation students across the globe to engage and learn remotely in a virtual classroom environment.
In a future airspace where UAs are performing operations from inspections, deliveries, passenger transport and agricultural work, the volume of UA air traffic may exceed manned traffic by a significant margin. The cognitive load to manage this traffic increases exponentially as the number of simultaneous airborne craft increases, and this is compounded when considering the wider range of performance characteristics.
Traditional ATC processes and systems are unlikely to be able to scale to accommodate the needs of all future airspace users. Airspace managers looking for a solution to efficiently manage an increasing complex airspace could consider a UTM solution with the following features:
Automation of decisions for requests to access airspace based on a calculated risk assessment taking into account, for example, the location or route of the operation, the capability of the UA, the pilot qualification and any contemporaneous air or ground information available to the UTM solution such as traffic, weather and first responder operations.
Digitisation of final clearances at launch time, automated in low-risk areas, so that airspace managers know exactly when a UA is entering the airspace. Similarly, digital notifications of UA landing lets the airspace manager know when the traffic is clear of the airspace. This increases situational awareness by providing clarity of exactly when the UA craft is operating.
Automated detections and notifications to airspace managers of airspace conflicts, non-cooperative UAs or other emergency situations. Any alerts should be assessed by the potential risk the situation poses and escalated for manual intervention by an airspace manager when it cannot be resolved by the system. An example is in controlled airspace, where ATC are not routinely concerned about low level UA operations distant from the airport. However, if an UA has an emergency condition and flies above its approved altitude – exceeding a defined risk threshold – ATC would be alerted (perhaps through integration into their ATM) and other traffic can be managed accordingly.
Evolving as the airspace changes
Rapidly advancing technology, regulations and standards in the UA industry creates a need for an airspace management environment that can adapt to the changing requirements. A good example is the emergence of advanced air mobility and the need to support vertiport management, airspace corridors and conflict management. A UTM solution needs to be able to evolve with industry demands at a much faster rate than in the traditional ATM industry.
Data captured by the UTM solution should be utilised to drive the evolution of the system. For example, areas of high risk will change based on new UA operations emerging (such as a new UA hub for delivery flights), locations of regular un-cooperative UA usage or new ground-based developments. A capable UTM solution such as AirShare needs to be ready to respond and adjust based on the changing environment to assure all air and ground users that safety levels are maintained.
Conclusion
As the complexity and mix of airspace traffic increases, a UTM solution that can make use of available data, combining it and repackaging to provide services that provide safety and operational benefits to stakeholders will be crucial to the UA industry continuing to flourish. A UTM solution that supports efficient work processes is key for scalability and maintaining airspace managers’ ability to undertake their duties efficiently. Capability of a UTM to evolve to accommodate the advances in the wider industry should also be key to selecting the best solution.
Airways International Limited has built AirShare with all of this in mind. If you’re looking for a UTM solution as part of managing UA in your airspace, please talk to us today.
Data, efficiency, evolution
With UA often having very different capabilities and performance characteristics than traditional manned aircraft, legacy air traffic management systems are unlikely to be fit for purpose for managing UA in the future.
This changing air traffic mix requires new systems and processes to protect airspace and ground safety while being highly scalable to meet future growth. Key considerations for the management of UA traffic include:
How do airspace managers have access to the information they require to assess the intentions of the UA to make an informed decision about providing authorisation to operate?
How will an airspace manager maintain situational awareness of UA traffic in the airspace so they can maintain safety for all airspace users?
What is needed to support the rapidly advancing and evolving UA industry to deliver the potential benefits of UA?
Accurate, real-time data is key
“We're entering a new world in which data may be more
important than software.”
Tim O’Reilly, Founder, O’Reilly Media
important than software.”
Tim O’Reilly, Founder, O’Reilly Media
The safe and effective management of UA in airspace is highly dependent on the available data to make decisions. How do airspace managers know whether a UA and the operator have the qualifications, experience and certifications to fly a proposed mission? How will the real-time risk of a UA operation to both air and ground users be understood throughout its flight? How is human cognitive load managed in airspaces where UA may significantly outnumber manned aircraft?Being able to gather, process and present accurate and relevant data to airspace managers is critical to answering these questions. By aggregating data from multiple sources into a UTM platform, a single source of the truth for airspace data becomes possible and new, innovative services for all stakeholders can be built based on that information.
Take a service such as an open-access traffic information Application Programming Interface (API), where any airspace users can integrate their own system to receive the positions of planned and live air traffic. This gives access to data that can be utilised to enhance safety and operational efficiency outcomes through increased situational awareness of the airspace. A UTM solution that can receive live positions of air traffic from a range of sensors and UA tracking infrastructure, repackage that data into relevant information for airspace users, and provide that information in near real-time is central to delivering a traffic information service.
UA detection infrastructure promises to provide data to assess potential threats to other airspace users and to ground based assets. However, how does an airspace manager really know which UAs are authorised to operate and which are truly non-cooperative? By aggregating the data from UA detection systems, live positions and known flight plans, a capable UTM solution such as AirShare, Airways’ UTM solution, can process this data and alert the airspace manager in real time which UA detections are truly unauthorised or operating in an off-nominal state.
Having the flexibility to add new value-add data sources when they emerge and realise the benefits of that data should be key when procuring a UTM solution. Scalability of UA operations in any given airspace will be driven by automation, which in turn is underpinned by having the best data available for the UTM solution to make safe, efficient, predictable and fair operational decisions.
Airways International Ltd
George Ridd, Airways' Product Manager AirShare, explains how new systems and processes are required to protect airspace and ground safety, while being highly scalable to meet future growth.
TotalControl simulators have been used to train Airways air traffic controllers since they were first developed more than 15 years ago. Airways is now utilising mobile desktop TotalControl simulators to deliver training to ATCs in regional towers throughout New Zealand, and simulator pilots working remotely to increase sim training efficiency and frequency.
Airways has deployed TotalControl mobile desktop simulators to several regional towers for training ATCs, enabling simultaneous sim training across multiple locations as a safe and effective remote training solution that requires no travel for ATCs.
Dean Urquhart, ATS Manager Planning & Performance for Airways, says mobile simulation enables Airways to take a much more agile approach to training ATCs, providing flexibility and assurance that training can continue even when ATCs are unable to travel.
“We’re really excited to have introduced mobile simulation with remote sim piloting into our training across Airways,” Dean says. “It provides us with many more training opportunities for ATCs needing to refresh their skills – it’s particularly helpful for providing response training for controllers who need to train for particular scenarios.”
Mobile simulation supports Covid-19 recovery
Covid-19 border and travel restrictions meant controllers in New Zealand have had a sustained period of controlling lower than usual traffic levels. Training in the simulator is critical to ensuring they maintain their skills managing busier traffic loads, so they are competent and confident when traffic ramps back up to pre-Covid levels.
“Traditionally our ATCs have needed to travel to our facilities in Christchurch to train in the simulator – this has obvious impacts on roster capacity, and on cost. When Covid-19 hit and our controllers were unable to travel to train, mobile simulation was critical to keeping their skills refreshed and current,” Dean says.
“We’ve been deploying the mobile simulators to regional towers to support their training programmes. While it has taken our ATCs some time to adjust, as they gain more experience they’re starting to think about how mobile simulators can be used for further training.”
Less disruptions, more training with remote sim piloting
Airways International is also providing remote simulator piloting as a tool to help ANSPs reduce training costs, minimise time off roster for ATCs, and enable greater flexibility in sim training with the ability for pilots to work from anywhere.
Controllers from Dunedin, Woodbourne & New Plymouth Towers have recently undertaken training in mobile sims set up at their tower locations, supported by simulator pilots working from home.
“Having the ability to pilot exercises remotely allows us to plan training more efficiently. During these times of the Covid-19 pandemic, this means we can continue training safely with less disruptions,” Dean says.
Jon Brooks, Chief Controller at Queenstown Tower, leads a team of 10 air traffic controllers who managed approximately 600 daily aircraft movements pre-pandemic. Queenstown Tower was one of the first regional towers in New Zealand to implement mobile simulators for training purposes.
Training to date completed in the mobile simulator includes re-current training that previously required staff to travel to Christchurch four times a year.
“Mobile simulator training allows controllers to refamiliarise themselves with the fast-paced communication and processing required in a post-pandemic environment,” Jon says. “Alongside this, the mobile simulator gives controllers clarity in procedures, and reinforces correct applications and practice time on site.”
The mobile simulator has been used in Queenstown to validate new internal processes. “With aircraft movements below pre-pandemic times, there was less opportunity to trial improvements in a live airspace. The simulator confirmed that these were positive and improved safety.”
The Queenstown Tower team has also used the mobile simulator in a ‘show-and-tell’ training opportunity with other aerodrome users. Local customers of air traffic services, such as airlines, airport Duty Managers, ground crew, and airport users were able to see the wider impact of their actions. This simulated exercise helped improve the efficiency and safety of the aerodrome as users better understood the consequences of their actions on the wider system.
The team found the simulator equipment easy to set up and use – it is easily packed into three suitcases, and while the monitors are smaller than the sim monitors in the Christchurch Training Centre, the mobile simulator works well for particular exercises.
And, having simulator pilots working remotely “was as good as them being in the next room,” Jon says.
The Queenstown International Airport tower team looks forward to continuing to use the mobile simulator for training exercises and to adjust to future aerodrome developments, alongside the 12 other New Zealand regional towers using this technology.
It’s leaps and bounds ahead of where simulation technology was at when Jon first trained as a controller – “A lot has changed from 30 years ago, when we had to push model planes around with pencils and pretend to phone someone!”
We look forward to meeting our customers, partners and industry colleagues at this important event - come and visit us on Airways’ stand 588, and learn about the latest Airways International developments and industry insights.
Jonny Cooke, TotalControl Product Manager will speak in the Wing ATM Theatre on Wednesday 22 June at 10.40am about cloud-based innovations and developments in the ATC simulation space. Also in attendance will be Sharon Cooke, AIL CEO; John McKenzie, Regional Director EMEA; Yuri van den Bongard, Technical Sales Director; Daniel Jimenez, Regional Director Asia; and Kelly de Lambert, Head of ATS Training.
We expect our TotalControl simulator with real-world graphics based on our unique TrueView technology to draw many visitors to our stand, as we demonstrate how remote sim piloting works with TotalControl.
Visitors will also learn about our Airways Knowledge Online (AKO) virtual training academy, as well as the AirShare unmanned traffic management system (UTM), our SureSelect ATC selection toolkit of test suites, and our airspace design and aeronautical information management (AIM) services via Aeropath.
Come and see us on stand 588, we’ll be delighted to welcome you!
We look forward to meeting our customers, partners and industry colleagues at this important event - come and visit us on Airways’ stand 588, and learn about the latest Airways International developments and industry insights.
I don’t often reflect on the study I completed or what I learnt, but rather the people I trained alongside. I still have strong ties with them and keep in touch. Some of them, like me, are still a part of the Air Traffic Control sector.
What was your experience like as an Air Traffic Controller?
I jumped in and out of control towers and radars centres throughout New Zealand. During my time within the operational environment, I was always instructing in some way or another. I have no specific memories that stand out, however, working with students who have had significant hurdles to overcome and have succeeded are memorable, you don’t forget those moments.
What led you to transition from being a controller to an instructor with Airways Training?
I was approached by our Manager of Training, Kelly de Lambert, and offered the opportunity to join the team. As I could no longer work as an operational controller due to medical reasons, this role was the perfect fit. It allowed me to continue working in the air traffic control sector and continue the rewarding experience of training students.
What do you enjoy most about being an instructor?
I have had the privilege of teaching students from over 10 countries and have been able to deliver courses in Kuwait, Vietnam, and the UAE. Students with good personalities, willingness to learn and overcome challenges are enjoyable to instruct. Often finding ways to help these students succeed by adapting my training to their cultural needs and individual students’ learning style leaves an impression.
If you could give any advice to future ATC students, what would that be?
I spent some time thinking about this as I thought this was an important question. My three pieces of advice, from my own experience, would be:
- 1. Be prepared to give it (your training) everything you’ve got
- 2. It’s short-term pain for long-term gain
- 3. Learn from the experienced people around you - draw from their experience and learn from their mistakes
What do you think aviation will be like in 10 years, any guesses?
In New Zealand, we’re currently encouraged to work from home if we can, which I’ve been doing. Seeing how this is possible with the sophisticated technology we have now, like our AKO virtual courses, I wouldn’t be surprised if our airspace is controlled remotely by people at home on secure networks. No matter what happens due to the nature of aviation, you must be flexible with however it evolves and try to stay ahead of the curve.
Finish this sentence - If I’m not at work, you will find me…
As the world moves into a post-Covid environment, you’ll see me travelling, on or in the water, or spending time with friends and family.
Before becoming an instructor in 2016, you were an Air Traffic Controller. What led you to join the aviation industry and become a controller?
I have always had a fascination with aeroplanes and the perceived freedom of flying. This interest led me to get my private pilot’s licence while I was in high school so I could enter the Air Force. My mother, however, mailed me a newspaper cutting for Air Traffic Control training. I applied for the program and got accepted about 32 years ago and as they say – the rest is history!
The Airways Training centre was opened in the 1950s, and has the capability and expertise to deliver courses to both first-time controllers and seasoned professionals. The instructors behind each student’s journey collectively have over 85 years of experience in the training environment.
Airways Training Instructor Richard Lange has taught students from over 10 countries over the past six years, and has travelled to Kuwait, Vietnam, and the UAE during his time as an instructor. He shares a little bit about himself below…