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	+ Home Search Aviation Systems		LAX North Airfield Safety Study (LAX-NASS) FutureFlight Central conducted a series of simulations in August 2009 to address safety issues concerning the existing and future operation of the north airfield at LAX. NASA conducted real-time airport operational scenarios for several runway layout alternatives. The results were analyzed by an academic panel of experts who will make a design recommendation to the airport commission. FutureFlight Central + Overview + Applications + Air Traffic Generator + Business Guide + Projects + Naming of FFC + Multimedia Gallery SimLabs + VMS + CVSRF Video: “Airport Safety Studies at NASA Ames Research Center” | 6 min. 36 sec. | Transcript Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the organization that manages operations at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), entered into an agreement with NASA Ames Research Center to use SimLabs' FutureFlight Central (FFC) and the Boeing 747-400 Simulator at Crew-Vehicle Systems Research Facility (CVSRF) in a major safety study of LAX. LAWA also appointed a six-member Academic Panel of well-known experts on airport operations to design the simulation study and report on its findings. SimLabs' role was to implement their experiment design in the FFC and CVSRF facilities and make it all work. Five different north airfield configurations were evaluated for safety and efficiency. The study investigated traffic levels and aircraft fleet mix expected in the future, including very large aircraft such as the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747-8. The first two major tasks accomplished by the FFC staff were: 1) integrating the Air Traffic Generator (ATG) with the native operating system of FFC; and 2) developing five different visual databases of conceptual runways, taxiways and airport buildings. Extensive photo detail was used to establish the baseline and then the databases were derived through modifications. The result was five very realistic daytime and night visual databases of the conceptual LAX configurations. Aircraft models for the Airbus A380, Boeing 747-8, and Boeing 787 were created in addition to existing models of current aircraft to simulate the future traffic mix at LAX. All the airport databases were also configured to display correctly on the 747 simulator. The visual images on the two simulators were synchronized so that they were consistent when seen from the tower and the 747 pilot's perspectives. The Academic Panel developed 54 one-hour scenarios with arrival/departure traffic and gate information that were evaluated during August 2009. The simulation used 21 experienced tower controllers and 20 pilots to reproduce operations in the LAX tower and the safety and operational aspects from a pilot's point-of-view will be evaluated by the nine experienced commercial pilots flying the Boeing 747-400 simulator. Data was collected in the form of audio and written questionnaires as well as extensive data on traffic movement and aircraft-state taken from the two simulators. July was dedicated to checking out the simulation and training the pilots who manage the arrival/departure traffic. + Back to Top
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