NASA Ames Research Center and FutureFlight Central were ISO 9001 certified in August 1999. This article describes NASA FutureFlight Central and some ideas for using it for 21st century airport planning. It suggests opportunities to develop targeted, cost-effective solutions to real problems through interactive simulation and modeling. Surface and terminal area radar, runway lighting control, weather maps, and communication panels are examples of custom, reprogrammable displays that provide the look and feel of the specific tower being simulated. For supporting the simulation, FutureFlight Central has 21 stations for pilots, ramp controllers, and airport operators in the lower story.
Pilots typically hold general aviation licenses or are retired commercial or private pilots.
Each pilot in the simulation actually monitors several vehicles. The routes are preprogrammed, but the pilot can override them and reroute aircraft dynamically. The vehicles are aircraft in various stages of flight or ground vehicles such as baggage carts, fuel or fire trucks. Authentic headsets, located at each controller, pilot, ramp and operator station, support fully functional simulated radio and interphone communications. A touchscreen panel emulates the panel of switches used to select among a wide array of voice communication channels.