Who provides traffic/ATC in simulators?

[AnthonyGA]

When pilots train in full-motion simulators, who or what provides the other traffic around them (including pilot radio traffic) and ATC? Is it computer-generated, or are there one or more other people to provide ATC and "fly" other aircraft, or do most simulations simply take place in a world without ATC or other air traffic? I know computers can handle accurate simulation of the physical parts of flight, but I suspect they would not be very good at generating spontaneous, realistic voice traffic for the radio, much less understanding the voice of the pilots in the sim.

[TopBunk]

Anthony

'Typically' in a sim detail where I work/am tested; the ATC is provided by the trainer running the detail. The trainer will also act as ground crew, cabin crew, company ops etc.

If you are doing recurrent TCAS training, then the profile flown tends to be pre-programmed into the sim, so that the sim generated warnings are 'genuine' and wothout human input. This gives the trainer the oportunity to distract you prior to the event to get your 'true' reaction to the TCAS event.

[FLCH]

Likewise for us too, the instructor is the F/A ,mechanic gate, agent, and anyone else that is needed. I had to laugh because prior to our TCAS event our instructor was playing F/A and began to tell us about the "wild night he had last night".....



Anthony with so much information you've gathered on these boards maybe we should be asking you questions !!

[Kak Klaxon]

I work in a sim and we have a function called chatter rate which if switched on gives pre recorded ATC/pilot chat,tends to get in the way of what we are trying to teach so it is generally switched off.
I am ATC, ground engineer ,company freq etc.As for TCAS events we tell the sim what kind of aircraft we want to come at us and from what direction then try to put the pilots off so that it comes as a surprise,it is possible to get the fire truck airbourne but does not do much for keeping it real.

Before doing this job I thought that a lot of what I did on sim checks was pre programed but it is not,if your pilots want to divert then you are busy pushing buttons in the back to pre load WX ETC as well as digging out App plates to give navigation assistance.

Its good fun,you learn a lot watching other pilots do their thing,sometimes good ,sometimes not.

Oh and for you pilots out there we can hear you ident the beacons through our headset so dont try and blag it!(as if you would)

[AnthonyGA]

Are there any ATC-related items that pilots must be certified on? In other words, I understand that pilots have to successfully handle certain scenarios in the sim, like engine failures, instrument approaches, and so on, in order to retain their credentials for flying. But are there any such requirements for ATC interaction? Do pilots have to prove that they can follow instructions or provide information to ATC in some particular way? My impression is that no such requirements exist, but perhaps they do (?).

Personally, I should think that you'd want to periodically verify that pilots can follow ATC instructions. This would especially be true for pilots who don't have English as their native language, if they fly internationally (although all international pilots should be tested equally, even if English is their first language). That would be a safety issue and thus worth testing, perhaps formally. I've read that the ICAO is working on stricter standards for this but I don't know the details.

Of course, a full-motion sim is perhaps a bit over the top for mere ATC practice, but it's a realistic environment in which you could put pressure and distractions on pilots to make sure that they can still communicate in emergencies (it's extremely difficult to speak a foreign language when one is distracted by other mental tasks).