Flight Simulator Training Device Qualification Standards - What Our Mission Must Be

Mark Dransfield, Director of Programmes, Thales Training & Simulation, Australia

During 1989 & 1990, the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) sponsored an International Working Group that led to the publication of ICAO Doc 9625 AN/938: Manual of Criteria for the Qualification of Flight Simulators (MCQFS). Since that time, the FAA, the JAA and other National Aviation Authorities have developed their own standards for the complete range of Flight Simulation Training Devices (FSTDs) since the ICAO manual only covers the highest level of FSTD, the Level D Full Flight Simulator (FFS). During 2001 a working group co-chaired by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) updated these standards defined within this ICAO manual and they now form the basis for United States Federal Aviation Authority CFR 14 FAR Part 60 Flight Simulation Training Device Initial and Continuing Qualification and Use, the Joint Aviation Authorities JAR STD 1A amendment 3 Aeroplane Flight Simulators and CASA Manual of Standards Part 60 Synthetic Training Devices. Most recently, ICAOs Flight Crew Licensing & Training Panel has additionally identified the need for 4 levels of FSTDs to support their proposed MultiCrew Pilot License. At the recent Royal Aeronautical Societys Flight Simulation conference (Flight Simulator Qualification Time for an Upgrade? - London 9th, 10th November), Dr. Ed Cook, Senior Advisor for Flight Simulation and Training, FAA Air Transportation Division, requested that the Society consider leading an international working group to review the technical standards contained within ICAO Doc 9625 and to expand these standards to include all flight training devices from the simplest desk top PC based device to the Level D FFS. Abstract - What Our Mission Must Be Edward D. Cook, Ph.D., Manager, National Simulator Program, US FAA I seek the services of the Royal Aeronautical Society to perform as an interested and technically competent, but neutral, facilitator in initiating a world standard for the harmonization of flight simulation training device (FSTD) levels (both full flight simulators and flight training devices), commensurate with tasks that should be authorized in such devices. Further, these efforts should include applications for both airplanes and helicopters, with a view that once developed, the Society would forward the completed package to ICAO Headquarters in Montreal, Canada, with a recommendation that this package be adopted as a substitute for the existing Manual of Criteria for the Qualification of Flight Simulators (MCQFS). The RAeS responded to this request during the conference and agreed to facilitate the resulting working group tasked to develop a unified set of technical standards and training credits for each type of device. This presentation will provide further relevant background as well as an update on the progress of this work that will result in the establishment of a common set of international industry agreed standards for all levels of Flight Simulation Training Device upon which Civil and Military programs will base future accreditation requirements.