Real time environment and control simulation of supersonic transport in air traffic control syste

Morris, R.

Sawyer, R. H.

Stickle, J. W.

English

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<A S-OR STUDY OF TEE SUPERSONIC TRANSPORT 
IN T€lE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL S Y S m j  
B y b c h a r d  H. Sawyer, Joseph W. Stickle,  
and Richard Morris J ~ - i c l c o + J "  , 
-_-- - 3 NASA .Langley Research Center 
/ Langley Station, %ampton,,Va. -- -I - 
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A SIMlTLAToR S"DY OF THE SUPERSONIC TRANSPORT 
I N  TEE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM 
By Richard H. Sawyer, Joseph W.  Stickle,  
and Richard Morris 
ABSTRACT 
35283 A 
!l%is paper presents the scope and objectives of the jo in t  NASA-FAA simula- 
~ 
t o r  program studying the problems of integrating proposed designs of the SST 
in to  the  already highly complex air  t r a f f i c  control system. Descriptions of 
the four-place, fixed-base SST simulator located at NASA Langley Research 
Center, the  FAA's Model B ATC simulator located at  NAFEC, and the  interface 
between these f a c i l i t i e s  a re  given. 
~ 
The t e s t  program and method of analysis i s  
discussed. 
A SIM[JLATOR STUDY OF THE SUF%RSONIC TRANSPORT I N  THE AIR TRAFFlC COFTROL SYSTEM 
By Richard H. Sawyer, Joseph W. S t ick le ,  
Aerospace Engineers, Airworthiness Branch 
Flight Mechanics and Technology Division 
Langley Research Center, NASA 
and Richard Morris 
Aerospace Technologist, Simulator Development Section 
Analysis and Computational Division 
Langley Research Center, NASA 
Summary 
An NASA-FAA cooperative program fo r  studying 
1 the problems anticipated i n  integrating the  SST 
with the ATC system is described. 
employs a technique of operating a four-place 
SST simulator i n  a real-time t r a f f i c  control 
environment created by ATC simulation f a c i l i t i e s .  
Descriptions of the equipment, technique, and 
t e s t  program a re  provided. 
The program 
1 
Introduction 
I n  order t o  study the problems anticipated 
i n  connection with the integration of the super- 
sonic transport  with the air t r a f f i c  control 
system, the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration and Federal Aviation Agency have 
i n i t i a t e d  a cooperative research program. This 
program w i l l  make use of a supersonic transport  
simulator located at NASA Langley Research 
Center, Hampton, Virginia, and the a i r  t r a f f i c  
control simulator located a t  the  FAA's National 
Aviation Fac i l i t y  Experimental Center, Atlantic 
City, New Jersey. By means of data and voice 
designs of t h e  supersonic transport  w i l l  be flown 
i n  real-time air  t r a f f i c  control environments. 
~ 
1 
I links connecting these f a c i l i t i e s ,  projected 
The objectives of t he  program are (1) t o  
determine the  e f f ec t s  of the ATC system on SST 
design and equipment requirements, and (2) t o  
determine the e f f ec t s  of t he  SST on An: system 
requirement 6 .  
I 
The purpose of this paper is t o  describe the I 
equipment, technique, and t e s t  program for t h i s  
study. 
The Supersonic Transport Simulator 
A plan view of the fixed-base supersonic 
transport  simulator i s  shown i n  f igure  1. The 
flight compartment i s  similar t o  that of current 
jet transport  a i r c r a f t  with seating f o r  the  
p i l o t ,  copilot ,  f l i g h t  engineer, navigator, and a 
jump seat fo r  an observer. The f l i g h t  instnunen- 
t a t i o n  i s  a l s o  similar t o  tha t  used i n  current 
j e t  transport  a i r c r a f t  with instrument ranges 
modified only t o  cover the higher a l t i t ude  and 
Mach number operation o f  the SST. An in t e r io r  
view of the flight compartment i s  given i n  
f igure  2. 
~ 
Accessory equipment needed t o  provide for 
navigation, communication, recording, and power 
requirements i s  located i n  a room behind the 
cockpit ( f ig .  1). 
ure  3(a) provides f o r  simulation of ground-based 
navigation a ids  including up t o  6 VIIF omni-range 
(VOR) s ta t ions  with distance measuring equipment 
(DME), marker beacons, and a simulated instrument 
landing system ( ILS) . 
figure 3(b), provides the  switching capabili ty 
required in  implementing the simulated VKF radio 
communications between the  p i l o t s  and a i r  t r a f f i c  
controllers over telephone l ines .  
cations, such a s  company reports, the  operator a t  
t h i s  s ta t ion  serves as  the  ground contact. A 
dual-channel tape recorder i s  provided fo r  pre- 
serving air-to-ground and ground-to-air communica- 
t ions.  The two X-Y recorders shown i n  figure 3(c) 
provide for continuous ground t rack  recording over 
full-scale ranges from 40 t o  4,000 nautical  miles 
square. 
The equipment shown i n  f ig-  
The communications console, 
For HF communi- 
I n  addition t o  the above equipment, f ive  
Electronics Associates' 23lR d-c analog computers 
are programed t o  solve six-degree-of-freedom 
motion equations for an a i r c r a f t  having the  char- 
ac t e r i s t i c s  of a supersonic transport  design. 
Signals from the  p i l o t ' s  control motions a re  con- 
verted in to  the proper a i r c r a f t  instrument indi- 
cations by means of this analog computer program. 
The computer program i s  scaled t o  cover a 
Mach number range from 0 t o  4.0 and an a l t i t ude  
range from sea l eve l  t o  100,000 f e e t .  The charac- 
t e r i s t i c s  of the engine, autopilot ,  and other air- 
craft  systems are also programed i n  the analog 
computer. Engine thrus t  and fue l  flow character- 
i s t i c s  a re  expressed as a function of Mach number, 
a l t i tude ,  and t h r o t t l e  posit ion f o r  four independ- 
ent engines. The equations representing the 
autopilot provide for  the  conventional modes of 
Mach-hold, attitude-hold, and altitude-hold. 
The ATC Environment 
The real-time simulated ATC environment i s  
created by means of a combination of an air t r a f -  
f i c  control f a c i l i t i e s  simulation and an a i r  
t r a f f i c  sample simulation. Both of these simula- 
t ions are provided by the FAA and create the  
environment in  which the  SST simulator i s  operated 
for the  t e s t s .  
The a i r  t r a f f i c  control f a c i l i t i e s  simulated 
consist of an en t i r e  A i r  Route Traf f ic  Control 
Center (ARTCC), a p a r t i a l  adjoining ARTCC, and an 
approach control and tower complex for one a i r -  
port. 
by 400 nautical  miles. Figure 4 shows part of an 
A i r  Traf f ic  Control F a c i l i t i e s  simulation similar 
The area controlled is 400 nautical  miles 
L-4037 
t o  t h a t  being prepared f o r  the subject program. 
These f a c i l i t i e s  are staffed by approximately 
30 experienced a i r  %ra f f i c  controllers,  including 
some currently assigned t o  the area being simu- 
lated.  The controllers a r e  provided with modern 
TV-type bright radar displays with video maps 
showing airways, holding and terminal areas, and 
navigation a ids  - as well a s  the usual f l i g h t  
progress s t r ip s  and interphone and radio communi- 
cations equipment. 
capabili ty o f  displaying information from the 
proposed h$-code radar transponder beacon 
system, Sllowing alpha-numeric display of air- 
c ra f t  ident i ty  and a l t i t ude  alongside the coded 
slash marks representing the  ta rge t  position. 
The radar displays have the 
The a i r  t r a f f i c  sample simulation i s  created 
by 108 electronic ta rge t  generators which provide 
rho-theta and transponder beacon information t o  
the  cont ro l le r ' s  radar scopes. A photograph of 
sane of the ta rge t  generators i s  shown i n  f ig-  
ure 5-  Each ta rge t  generator, representing one 
a i r c r a f t ,  consists of a console with an airways 
display map and an operator. By adjusting knob 
and lever controls and actuating switches, the 
operator maneuvers the simulated a i r c r a f t  along 
the  airways system and departure and a r r i v a l  
paths according t o  a preprogramed scr ip t  and 
instructions from the  controllers over a simu- 
la ted  radio communications network. 
generator i s  programed t o  have the simplified 
overa l l  characterist ics of a par t icu lar  type of 
a i r c r a f t .  
gramed i n  order t o  create the  t r a f f i c  mix 
required. 
Data Transmission and Communications 
Each ta rge t  
A number of types of a i r c r a f t  are pro- 
Data transmission between the SST simulator 
and the ATC! simulation f a c i l i t i e s  i s  effected 
over leased private telephone lines. A block 
diagram of the data transmission system i s  shown 
i n  f igure  6. 
nates (x-Y) and a l t i t ude  (z) information a re  con- 
verted from analog t o  d i g i t a l  signals fo r  trans- 
mission v i a  a Be l l  X)lA da ta  phone link t o  the  
A!lC simulation f a c i l i t i e s .  Dig i ta l  radar beacon 
transponder signals f r o m  the  SST simulator f o r  
a i r c r a f t  identity,  a l t i t ude ,  and beacon code a re  
transmitted over the same system. The SST s h u -  
l a t o r  position information jo ins  the posit ion 
Information from the ta rge t  generators i n  the 
simulated radar system f o r  display on the  con- 
t r o l l e r ' s  radar displays and a lso  f o r  recording 
i n  the da ta  collection system. 
t i o n  system has the capabili ty of playing back 
the problem for subsequent analysis. 
transponder information from the SST sjmulator 
jo ins  the beacon transponder information from the 
radar ta rge t  generators i n  the simulated An: 
radar beacon system fo r  display on the  con- 
t r o l l e r  ' s radar displays. 
The SST simulator ground coordi- 
The da ta  collec- 
The beacon 
Communications between the radar ta rge t  gen- 
e ra tor  operators and the air t r a f f i c  controllers 
i s  effected via a Bell 300 telephone switching 
system. This system is  an extremely ve r sa t i l e  
telephone system which allows many operators t o  
d i a l  the same controller simultaneously, thus, 
simulating ac tua l  radio communications. c05uni -  
cations between the  p i l o t s  of the SST simulator 
and the  controllers i s  effected over two leased , 
long l i nes  which a re  connected in to  the B k l l  
300 system. The dialing, i n  this case, i s  done by 
the  communications controller i n  accordance with 
the  radio frequencies selected by the SST simula- 
t o r  p i lo t s .  
Test  Program 
The t e s t  program i s  designed t o  study a r r i v a l  
and departure operations of the supersonic trans- 
por t  t o  and from the Kennedy International Airport 
i n  the  multi-airport New York area. A mixed traf- 
f i c  sample representing conditions of high-density 
t r a f f i c  flow including a limited number of SST 
a i r c r a f t ,  one of which is t he  SST simulator, i s  
used. All t r a f f i c  i s  under posit ive control of 
the New York A i r  Route Traf f ic  Control Center, 
adjacent centers, and Kennedy Departure, Arrival, 
and Tower Fac i l i t i e s .  
Two or three proposed design configurations 
fo r  t he  SST, including both fixed-geometry and 
variable-sweep wing concepts, are included i n  the 
program. 
leve ls  of experience who are currently engaged i n  
j e t  transport  operations provide the  majority of 
the  required piloting. Some p i lo t ing  i s  provided 
by NASA and FAA f l i g h t  t e s t  p i lo t s .  
program, the SST simulator f l i g h t  controls and 
instrumentation, typ ica l  of current j e t  transport  
instrumentation, w i l l  be updated t o  r e f l ec t  cur- 
rent state-of-the-art advances. Such items a s  
p i c t o r i a l  navigation displays, tape-type instru- 
ments, command-type instruments, automatic th ro t -  
t l e  control, side-arm controller,  f u e l  management 
systems, and automatic air-ground-air communica- 
t i o n  systems a re  being considered. 
Airline pilot-copilot  teams of two 
During the  
Current air  t r a f f i c  control procedures and 
equipment a re  employed i n  the  i n i t i a l  part of the 
program with the exception of the  handling given 
t o  the  SST's. The conditions t o  be covered i n  the  
study a re  (1) present-day handling (no p r io r i ty )  , 
(2) special  handling (minimum holding and devia- 
t i on  from t rack) ,  and ( 3 )  pr io r i ty  handling (no 
holding or  deviation from t r ack ) .  
phases of the program, the  air  t r a f f i c  control 
procedures and equipment w i l l  be updated t o  
r e f l e c t  the  air t r a f f i c  control system envisioned 
f o r  the 1970-1975 time period. 
t r o l  procedures and equipment which a re  being con- 
sidered include the  use of off-airways a r r i v a l  and 
departure routes, segregation of t r a f f i c  according 
t o  performance capabili ty , provision of a l t i t ude /  
ident i f ica t ion  alpha-numeric displays on the radar 
displays, and automation of flight program da ta  
updating. 
For l a t e r  
A i r  t r a f f i c  con- 
Concluding Remarks 
I n  summary, t he  jo in t  NASA-FA4 SST-ATC pro- 
gram w i l l  allow, i n  real-time simulation, a study 
of t he  problems of integrating proposed designs 
of the  SST with the  ATC! system. For these 
studies,  a four-place fixed-base SST simulator 
located a t  NASA Langley Research Center w i l l  be 
operated in an air traffic control environment 
pToduced by Pn: simulation facilities at NAFEC. 
The test program is based on arrival and depar- 
ture operations to and from Kennedy International 
~ 
, Airport. Both fixed-geometry and variable-sweep 
wing SST concepts will be studied under different 
types of handling by E. 
controls and instrumentation and current ATC pro- 
cedures and equipment will be updated during the 
course of the program to reflect conditions 
envisioned f o r  the 1970-1975 time period. 
Current aircraft flight 
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A simulator study of the supersonic transport in the air traffic control system

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