NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is the 5th busiest airport in the world with more than 60 million arrival, departures and transfers. With the expected growth in air travel in the next 20 years, the airport partnered with NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to improve its runway systems.

Image Above: Aerial view of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport with proposed perimeter taxiways.Credit:DFW

DFW experiences more than 1,700 runway crossings daily; to increase safety and traffic flow, the airport developed a plan to build a system of perimeter taxiways. To evaluate the plan, the DFW relied upon the world-class simulation facilities at NASA Ames Research Center, located in California's Silicon Valley.

In Feb. 2003, DFW began real-time, human-in-the-loop simulations that demonstrated the effect of adding perimeter taxiways at NASA Ames' FutureFlight Central (FFC) and Crew Vehicle Systems Research Facility (CVSRF).

FFC is a two-story facility that offers a 360-degree full-scale, real-time simulation of an airport control tower, where controllers, pilots, and airport personnel can test out new technologies and optimize operating procedures and airport designs. The CVSRF contains a Boeing 747-400 and a configurable advanced cab simulator used to evaluate flight crew interactions, cockpit procedures and future operating environments.

Image to left: Pilots in the 747 simulator participate in the DFW simulation. Credit:NASA

FFC and the CVSRF are linked a via high-speed data network allowing researchers the ability to simultaneously evaluate an experiment from the control tower and the aircraft.

During the tests, controllers and officials from DWF, the FAA and NASA evaluated numerous scenarios to verify the cost benefit and paper studies on the perimeter taxiways. In particular, there were four 'views' of special interest for the demonstration 1) the controller view, 2) the pilot-on-taxi view, 3) the pilot-on-arrival view, and 4) the pilot-on-departure view.

The results of the simulation demonstrated perimeter taxiways provided for a smoother flow of traffic, afforded better ability to move aircraft to and from the runways, improved situation awareness, and decreased workload demands.

Image to right: Air traffic controller monitors traffic flow on the proposed perimeter taxiways. Credit:NASA

Follow-up tests were recently completed in the 747 simulator to help pilots identify when an aircraft is on the perimeter taxiway. A variety of techniques including using screens to obscure the bottom half of aircraft or lowering the taxiways have been evaluated. These visual cues are designed to further improve the effectiveness and safety of the proposed taxiways.

In addition to Dallas/Fort Worth, the simulation facilities at NASA Ames have conducted evaluations for Los Angeles and San Francisco International Airports and the Space Shuttle Lancing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The evaluations help airport planners evaluate proposed infrastructure or procedural changes before costly construction begins saving time and money.

Jonas Dino
NASA Ames Research Center