Arizona State University’s Polytechnic School flight training program has incorporated the PilotEdge live air traffic control system into its Elite Simulation Solutions King Air simulators. PilotEdge connects air traffic controllers in real time to simulators so pilots can experience the same interaction with ATC that they do when flying in a real aircraft.
The controllers are retired and active-duty FAA air traffic controllers and trained ATC students, according to PilotEdge, working on simulated radarscopes connected via the Internet to flight simulators. “The use of PilotEdge was noted in our recent AABI [Aviation Accreditation Board International] as a ‘best practice,’ putting the ASU flight program at the head of the class,” said ASU instructor Jim Anderson, a retired Southwest Airlines and 20-year U.S. Air Force pilot.
While synthetic ATC systems are available for flight simulation, according to PilotEdge founder Keith Smith, “They are completely ineffective in terms of placing any pressure on the pilots, causing any kind of mic fright or building the sense that there is any kind of consequence to the pilot’s actions. There’s a huge difference between flying with synthetic ATC and human-driven ATC. Those who have experienced PilotEdge have been blown away by the fidelity and realism it offers.”
The ASU program began using PilotEdge during the fall 2014 semester. “A student was involved in PilotEdge as a controller,” said ASU instructor Mike Hampshire. That student helped set up a demonstration of PilotEdge at an ASU innovation showcase early last year, with students flying in a simulator while he acted as the PilotEdge controller in another room, with video cameras taping the pilots in the simulator. “We couldn’t resist getting involved with it,” Hampshire said. “We were able to get funding to add PilotEdge for the students.”
ASU has its own air traffic controller training program, and it had considered using ATC students to set up a live ATC network for pilot trainees. “The expense of setting up the system and coordination and timing between the different classes was too difficult,” he explained.
ASU trainee pilots currently use PilotEdge in two classes, an air navigation course that comes after pilots obtain their instrument rating, and an airline procedures course where they practice more complex scenarios and use the PilotEdge controllers to add unexpected situations such as runway changes, holding patterns and so on. “Having a controller talk to the students really makes a difference,” Hampshire said. “PilotEdge keeps people really sharp, and if somebody makes a mistake they hear about it. Students tend to concentrate a lot more when doing PilotEdge flights. Having that outside influence steps up their attention span; they seem to perform a lot better.”
PilotEdge also helps students as they are learning crew resource management practices in the King Air simulator. “PilotEdge just adds to that,” Hampshire said. “You can see the different working with PilotEdge as opposed to the instructor [playing the role of the controller] over their shoulders. They’re online with microphones, and it’s very close to doing a real flight.”
