Universities, ATC operators & therapeutic work
out of the ordinary places where ELITE simulators are used.
Simulators and their increasing role in Universities and other educational institutions
Undergraduate and postgraduate Aeronautics and Astronautics students are being trained to observe the important role of aircraft design and its influence on handling of an aircraft. Most Universities set the focus in the first year of the degree on design, testing and manufacturing of an aircraft. Thanks to a (flight) simulator at hand, these students have the exclusive opportunity of flying a variety of aircraft. The different aircraft types on each simulator vary depending on customer wishes. This means, they can experience directly and «out of first hand» how major aspects of an aircraft design influence the handling qualities (known as the laboratory phase). In the last two years of their studies, the students are normally able to use the simulators once again for individual tasks and group design projects.
Universities are very keen on observing human-to-machine interaction, analyzing aeroacoustics of aircraft, but also rotorcraft and biologically inspired flying vehicles. It is clear, that nowadays students are in a much better situation when provided with a (flight) simulator. Have a look at the generic ELITE FNPT II or the FTD, which is a simulator device, that has been specifically designed and built by our engineers. They can now study, learn and work in an environment that previously would have only been made accessible by very expensive full motion (flight) simulators or by sitting in a real aircraft, thus resulting in high fuel and maintenance costs.
A further benefit for higher education institutes using a simulator is how easy our generic and reconfigurable devices can be switched between aircraft types and systems. This is a huge learning step for students who can now evaluate, observe and recognize the handling characteristics of different aircraft. It enables them to enter their study phase of planning and engineering of future system designs. These engineering research simulators are going to be a game changer for a University, college or high school that wants to be even more valued and sought for by students.
The professional use of simulators on Air Traffic Control
Let us now have a look how our Air Traffic Procedures Simulator (ATPS) can enhance ATC training and supervision levels and help both students and operators achieve a much greater learning growth.
- Practice ATC procedures: An ATPS is the ideal enabler to introduce and validate new ATC procedures and to educate air traffic controllers on pilot and co-pilot procedures during take-off and landing phases.
- ATC organization: The ATPS supports ATC organizations to make sure that new procedures and materials evaluated on the ATC side are truly ready for use on the airside.
- Different view and perspective: Each Air Traffic Controller is able to step into pilot «shoes» and spend enough hours in a highly realistic Airbus A320 cockpit environment.
- Validation of ATC / Navigation Enhancements, for instance examining the transition from performance based navigation to ground based augmentation systems.
- Investigation of new concepts of air to ground cooperation by using Airborne Separation Assurance Systems (ASAS).
- Evaluation and Assessment of air to ground interaction when using 4D trajectories. Trajectory based operations (TBO) is an air traffic management (ATM) method for strategically planning and managing flights throughout the operation by using time-based management (TBM) information exchanged between air and ground systems, and the aircraft’s ability to fly trajectories in time and space.
Furthermore, we are now giving ATC training organizations the opportunity of enhancing their professional skills with modern hard and software tools. These are exciting times as safety measures and procedures can be trained over and over again. We offer an Air Traffic Procedures Simulator (ATPS) which even allows evaluation and assessment of Air to Ground interaction by using 4D (integration of time) trajectories.
We are very proud to have two large and important customers, namely the Eurocontrol ATC in Paris and the Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) in Germany.
The benefits of simulator aided medical and therapeutical work
Finally, if you are a professor in a medical department, a psychologist or a researcher, you will find a completely new approach to solving health issues with the help of a simulator. Like aviation, that is driven by safety, health care is another field which is driven by patient safety. We strongly believe that the link between (flight) simulation and patient safety has become increasingly apparent. In other words: simulation will be the future key to solve many problems, simply by adding the simulator as the education and training method of choice for many different (critical) behaviors such as communication and teamwork skills.
Aerophobia or the fear of flying is described as «a normal reaction when placed in an uncomfortable environment». Fear can be kept by most people under control, but when fear takes hold of you, this experience or feeling is known as phobia. A phobia has deep negative effects on our lives and therefore must be addressed as serious concerns. Often a phobia is detached from objective reality and is in most cases irrational.
A person with aerophobia may have never flown an airplane or helicopter before but still can feel very tense and even experience fear. Recent researchers have found out, that in pain management, non-pharmacologic therapies can be effective for managing chronic pain, including hypnosis and guided imagery, cognitive behavioral therapy, muscle relaxation, and mindfulness based stress reduction. All these techniques can be easily combined with an (flight) simulator and appropriately trained staff.
There are also endless research opportunities as there is an ever-growing field of studies about interaction between humans and machines. The potential high utility of (flight) simulators for treatment of individuals with a fear of flying is of great importance. Scientists are currently researching the benefits for patients using a (flight) simulator for «therapeutic» reasons as it enables them to focus on a task of flying rather than on pains of the body or mind.
