to support future remote training
Product Manager (TotalControl), Airways International Ltd
Maintaining controllers’ skills during this time of greatly reduced air traffic has become a major challenge. The risk of losing competencies and proficiency ratings is high for controllers who are used to managing high levels of traffic and a busy airspace.
Air navigation service providers (ANSPs) need to rethink how they train controllers in this new post-Covid-19 world where remote working is becoming increasingly necessary. Reducing costs and increasing efficiency whilst keeping controllers’ skills current have become a key focus.
ATC simulation in a Covid-19 world
ATC simulators play an important part in air traffic control training globally. With the ability to replicate real world environments and traffic scenarios, Ab-initio students gain the required skill and competencies in the sim to be ready for on-the-job training. Simulators are also used by operational controllers to refresh and maintain their skills and train for emergency situations.
Simulators enable controllers to train in high traffic scenarios to keep their skills refreshed – this training is now more important than ever, while controllers are dealing with heavily reduced air traffic on every shift.
Airways’ TotalControl simulators have been used to train air traffic controllers since they were first developed more than 15 years ago. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Airways team began development of a cloud-based simulation solution to support remote ATC training – development which has now proved to be invaluable to meet the evolving needs of the industry post-Covid.
Remote simulator piloting is a key part of this development, helping ANSPs to reduce training costs, minimising time off roster for controllers, and enabling greater flexibility in sim training with the ability for pilots to work from anywhere.
Read about three of our customers who are utilising remote piloting with TotalControl, and how they are benefiting.
Cloud-based simulation to support future remote training
Cloud-based simulation is key to meeting the growing needs of customers requiring remote training capabilities as border and travel restrictions presented training challenges.
Remote piloting, cloud-based systems monitoring and analytics, and part task trainers/self study tools are all swiftly becoming relevant and necessary to support ANSPs to achieve quality training outcomes for their controllers and trainees.
Airways has built this enhanced functionality and usability into an advanced TotalControl simulation solution, leveraging cloud services to enable users to connect to the same simulation session from anywhere in the world. A cloud-based monitoring tool provides live information about running simulations, allowing Airways to directly provide proactive support to our customers. Simulator documentation and training has also been moved to the cloud.
A part-task trainer within TotalControl enables surveillance controllers and students to practice situations using voice recognition in their own time using a personal computer. Further development on the part-task trainer is underway to improve voice recognition capabilities for tower-based training, and to provide analytics and insights for trainees and instructors. ‘Bite sized’ training scenarios are a powerful way to deliver good training outcomes with a wide reach and minimal impact to operational rosters.
The future of simulation
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused many ANSPs and training providers to revaluate what’s important when it comes to ATC training delivery and how simulation fits into that picture.
Flexibility is paramount. When it comes to scale, pricing and delivery, customers want a solution that can adapt with a now rapidly changing industry.
Simulation training as a service seems a likely future model – a step change from ANSPs considering simulation as the procurement of an asset. ANSPs would simply book in their staff or students for training and select from a range of services - from the use of the simulator right through to scenario preparation and simulator piloting.
The mindset of ANSPs regarding the investment required is also changing. Demand is growing for portable, affordable simulators, and advances in technology will further improve how we deliver powerful remote simulator training – doing away with the concept of large bespoke rooms with multiple projectors.
With simulators moving quickly to the cloud, delivery of effective ATC training in a virtual world is breaking down barriers for new simulator users and existing customers alike. The world of ATC training is changing, and Airways is one ANSP adapting our simulator technology and delivery to best meet the evolving needs of the industry.
Remote piloting, cloud-based systems monitoring and analytics, and part task trainers/self study tools are all swiftly becoming relevant and necessary to support ANSPs to achieve quality training outcomes for their controllers and trainees.
Airways New Zealand
Dean Urquhart, ATS Manager Planning & Performance for Airways, says remote sim piloting enables Airways and other ANSPs to take a much more agile approach to training ATCs.
Airways is now utilising a TotalControl mobile simulator to deliver training to ATCs in regional towers throughout New Zealand and will shortly extend remote piloting from a centralised location to increase sim training efficiency and frequency. Airways plans to deploy two more mobile simulators for use in training ATCs in regional towers, which will enable simultaneous sim training across multiple locations.
“I’m really excited about introducing remote piloting into our mobile simulator training – this will provide us with many more training opportunities for ATCs needing to refresh their skills, and for our ab-initio students working towards their ratings,” Mr Urquhart says.
“Having the ability to pilot exercises from a centralised location 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 in the event of any further restrictions or lockdowns,” he adds.
Avinor Air Navigation Services, Norway – fast ramp-up of sim training
Airways International Ltd recently remotely installed six large TotalControl tower simulators (four with dedicated surveillance sims), six mobile simulators and 17 aerodrome environments at 12 sites throughout Norway.
A centralised simulator pilot hub has been established at Værnes, one of the six sites with a tower simulator. Sim pilots are trained at this hub and run exercises remotely for each of the six main sites, as well as the sites where the six mobile simulators are deployed.
One major benefit of remote piloting for Avinor is the ability to quickly ramp up sim training when the need arises. In the simulator at Gardermoen Airport in Olso, simulator exercises involving 80-100 movements an hour are often required – with sim pilots operating remotely, this can be resourced quickly and efficiently.
The ability to utilise a small pool of pilots to run consecutive sim exercises across multiple locations is another benefit – creating efficiencies around sim pilot rostering and scheduling of sim runs.
“To be able to use pilots from the centralised pilot centre either solely or in combination with local pilots was our ambition when we started the procurement process, and to see this concept work even better than we expected is very satisfying,” says Ragnvald Godø, Avinor ANS Project Leader for the Airways-Avinor simulator project.
SAERCO, Spain – ease of planning & coordination
SAERCO, a private air navigation service provider which delivers services across Europe, runs TotalControl desktop simulators in Madrid, Fuerteventura (Canary Islands), and Kjevik in Norway – all managed from a central sim piloting hub in Madrid.
The number of simulator pilots fluctuates depending on SAERCO’s needs – up to 20 pilots can be deployed to run exercises for the remote desktop sims as well as the two tower and six radar simulators at the Madrid training centre.
In addition to reducing costs and minimising time off the roster and away from home for ATCs, SAERCO has discovered other benefits to remote piloting, says Jorge Avila, SAERCO Managing Director.
“Having our pseudo pilots in the same place helps to improve the quality of simulations,” Jorge says. “And in Covid times another advantage becomes obvious - despite travel restrictions within regions we’ve been able to keep running simulations and these are more important than ever due to the low traffic situation.”
Jorge adds that running simulation exercises remotely also makes for easier planning and coordination. It’s much easier to organise sim sessions at short notice, and travel time for ATCs has reduced significantly, especially in the Canary Islands where five SAERCO towers are situated.
Read about three of our customers who are utilising remote piloting with TotalControl, and how they are benefiting.
I started my aviation career in 1983 as a Communications Officer. I began ATC training in 1987 and spent 30 years as a controller in New Zealand! I worked at various towers in the North Island of New Zealand and moved to radar in 1990, both Area and Approach.
My wife of 18 years, Leesa and I went to Switzerland in 2000 where I began working as an Instructor at Skyguide. In 2005 we returned to New Zealand with two extra passengers, twin girls Amelia and Bridgetta who are now 15 years old, born in Switzerland. I have been an instructor at Airways Training since 2005.
I have a commercial pilot’s licence which is no longer current with a total of 450 flying hours.
I retired from playing rugby after 27 years to take up refereeing in 1997. I became the No. 1 referee in Switzerland and I have officiated in two Rugby World Cup qualifier matches.
And a little claim to fame - I made an appearance on a New Zealand TV show called “Masterchef NZ” in 2012.
We currently live on a 4.5 hectare lifestyle block in West Melton, just outside of Christchurch, raising rare breeds of sheep, ducks and chickens.
Moving from teaching students face-to-face, to virtually has certainly been an adjustment. We’re all learning new ways of working in this Covid-19 world!
Check out how our AKO virtual academy to learn more about our virtual courses on offer and how we can support you to continue training.
Airways Training Instructor Patrick Coyle will be a familiar face to many of our previous students who have undertaken ATS training over the years. Patrick has been instructing with us since 2005 – with the Covid-19 travel restrictions in place, he’s now teaching students virtually, via our Airways Knowledge Online virtual academy.
Patrick tells us a little bit about himself…