V10/doc/atc
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AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SIMULATION
James J. Gillogly
1_. Introduction____________
ATC is a real-time simulation game running under UNIX on the VAX and
PDP-11/45 at Rand. The user, as an air traffic controller, manages the
area around one or more airports. He must issue commands to the twenty-six
airplanes that appear during the course of the game, guiding each to the
destination listed on its flight plan, while maintaining a high level of
safety (i.e., observing all the relevant FAA regulations). The airspace
includes airways linking entry/exit fixes at the edges of the screen,
airports, and navaids (navigational aids, radio beacons). ATC simulates
the controller's radar terminal on the Ann Arbor screen, using cursor
positioning to move the planes. ATC is based on a game by David Mannering,
a former air traffic controller. This version benefitted from design
decisions and helpful suggestions by Bob Wesson (project leader), Keith
Wescourt, Stockton Gaines, and others in the Air Traffic Control project.
2_. Usage_____
To start ATC from the UNIX command level, give the command
% atc
This will bring the simulated radar display to the screen. ATC prompts for
the game time with:
< >
Enter the time in minutes -- the value must be between 16 and 99. In
a 99-minute game the planes will be spaced out rather well; a 30-minute
game is difficult, even for an experienced player. ATC continually
displays the amount of time remaining.
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Several options are available as flags on the "atc" command.
-u=<string> : Use the file specified by the string to find
the airspace, which is either specified with
-a (below) or defaulted. The default file is
~jim/atc/airspaces on the VAX, and
/mnt/jim/atc/airspaces on the PDP-11/45.
-a=<string> : Use the airspace identified by the string.
(The default airspace is called "Apple1"
and corresponds to the first airspace in
Mannering's version of ATC.)
-s=<seed> : The seed is a string of digits (32 bits worth)
to start the random number generator. If it isn't
supplied the program uses the number of seconds
since 1970.
-t=<time> : Mainly useful for program control - sets the
game time to the specified number of minutes.
If it isn't provided the program will prompt in
the usual way for the time.
3_. Reading_______ the___ radar_____
The initial display of a typical airspace looks like this:
. 0 . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . , . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . , . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
. . . . , . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . , .
. . . . . , . . , . . . . . . . . . . . , . .
. . . . . . , . , . . . . . . . . . . , . . .
. . . . . . . , , . . . . . . . . . , . . . .
6 , , , , , , , * , , , , , , , , , , , , , 3
. . . . . . . . , , . . . . . . , . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . , . , . . . . , . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . , . . , . . % . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . , . . . , , . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . , . . . , , . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . , . . , . . , . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . , . , . . . . , . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . , , . . . . . . , . . . . . .
4 , , , , , , , * , , , , , # , , , , , , , 5
. . . . . . . , , . . . . . . . . . , . . . .
. . . . . . , . , . . . . . . . . . . , . . .
. . . . . , . . , . . . . . . . . . . . , . .
. . . . , . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . , .
. . . , . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
. . 7 . . . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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% and # indicate the airports. Navaids are indicated with an "*", and
airways show up as lines of commas with entry/exit fixes on each end
indicated by the digits 0-9. In this example the numbers on the ends of
each airway are 9's complements, to make them easier to locate, but the
airspace designer need not observe this convention. The distance between
adjacent dots is one mile -- horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
Airplanes are indicated by the call letter of the plane (A through Z)
followed by its altitude in thousands of feet. For example, the symbol
"X3" on the screen means that airplane X is in the location shown, and is
flying at 3000 feet. Two airplanes in the same horizontal location obscure
each other, so that only one appears on the radar screen - be careful!
4_. Airplane________ Types_____
There are two kinds of planes: jets and props (light propeller
planes). Jets travel at 240 knots (i.e., one mile every 15 real seconds)
and props travel at 120 knots. A jet turns at the rate of three degrees
per second. Since the screen updates every 15 seconds, it will turn 45
degrees each tick. Props turn half as fast, so that they also turn 45
degrees each time they are updated (a prop takes 30 seconds to move one
mile). Each has sufficient fuel to get to any destination: jets have fuel
for 15 minutes of real time, and props have 21 minutes of fuel. Note,
however, that a plane sitting on the runway burns fuel at the same rate as
a plane in the air.
5_. Object______ of__ the___ Game____
To complete his shift successfully, the controller must handle all 26
airplanes without running out of time, violating FAA regulations, letting
any plane run out of fuel, or sending any plane out the wrong destination
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or at the wrong altitude. This means either landing each plane at its
desired airport, or sending it out the desired fix in the right direction
(i.e., along the airway) at 5000 feet.
The FAA requires planes to be separated either by three miles
horizontal distance or 1000 feet of altitude. If they come closer it is
logged as a "system error", which is serious trouble. NOTE that a plane
changing altitude is considered (by FAA regs) to be at both its old and new
altitudes; thus two planes may be 2000 feet apart, but still cause a system
error because they were at the same altitude on the previous tick, where
one was climbing and the other descending.
Allowing a plane to run out of fuel, either on the runway or in the
air, is a serious error. Planes on the runway burn fuel at the same rate
as when they are airborne.
A "boundary error" is serious, but not as likely to be fatal. It
occurs when a plane is sent out at the wrong fix, the wrong altitude, or in
the wrong direction. A plane must be headed out the correct exit fix in
the direction opposite to that fix's entry direction. This will be along
the airway to that exit fix. All planes must leave the airspace at 5000
feet, so controllers of neighboring airspaces will know what to expect.
6_. Basic_____ Flight______ Plans_____
The right side of the screen is reserved for flight plans. A typical
flight plan looks like:
Fj 7->3 4 NE +
The first letter is the aircraft ID, which can be any letter from A through
Z. The next letter is the airplane type: either "j" for jet or "p" for
propeller.
The next field (e.g. 7->3) gives the plane's intentions: this one is
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entering at (or is now at) fix 7 and leaving at fix 3. A plane enters the
airspace at any fix and continues along the airway until given other
instructions. The controller may need to give course corrections (below)
to enable the plane to leave at the desired fix. Either the origin or
destination (or both) can be the symbol for an airport, indicating that
this plane will be taking off or landing. The "origin" character is the
entry fix if the plane has not yet entered the airspace; otherwise it is a
symbol for the plane's location on the screen: "*" if it is over a beacon,
"." if it is in some random location, "," if it is on an airway, or the
appropriate airport symbol if it is flying over an airport.
Next is the altitude in thousands of feet. Plane F in this example is
at 4000 feet.
The bearing is given as a compass direction: N, S, E, W, NE, NW, SE,
or SW, with north at the top of the radar screen. The plane in the example
above is headed northeast.
The final character is the amount of fuel left. If it is a "+", as
here, the plane has more than 10 minutes of fuel left; otherwise it shows
the number of minutes of fuel remaining.
The flight plans are separated into two groups: the top group previews
the planes that will become active within the next minute, and the bottom
group is for planes that are already active. Flight strips in the preview
area are preceded by a digit from 0 to 4, indicating how many "ticks"
(15-second intervals) before the plane enters the airspace. Planes may be
cleared for takeoff as soon as they appear in the preview area.
7_. Airplane________ Commands________
In order to maintain safety and route the planes to their designated
goals, the controller issues commands telling the pilots to turn, change
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altitude, take off, and land. Each command is terminated by a <RETURN>.
<BACK SPACE> may be used to correct errors on the command line. Either
upper or lower case is allowed. The radar screen is updated every 15
seconds; if the update occurs while a command is being typed, a beep will
indicate that the command may no longer be timely.
7_.1_ Command_______ Summary_______
The following kinds of commands can be issued. Each is described in
more detail below.
$ End the game and exit to UNIX
W Print flight strip for airplane W
XA3 X will change altitude to 3000 feet
QA0 Q will land (go to 0 feet altitude)
HRE H will turn right until it is heading east
ALNW A will turn left until it is heading northwest
CTS C will turn south through the smallest angle
T*7 T will take exit bearing for fix 7 at next navaid
P*W P will take landing bearing for White at next navaid
DH D will circle (hold) at next navaid
MR0 Aborts pending hold, clearance, or turn for plane M
<SPACE> Speed up the game by advancing 15 seconds
7_.2_ Terminating___________ the___ Game____
The command "$" terminates the game and restores the terminal to its
normal state (mainly leaving raw mode). The game will also terminate when
the shift is over (i.e., time runs out or all traffic has been handled).
7_.3_ Information___________
Individual planes may be selected from the flight strips by typing the
ID of the plane followed by a <RETURN>. The command "g<RETURN>" will print
the flight strip for plane G under the command line.
7_.4_ Changing________ Altitude________
Airplanes normally enter the airspace at 6000 feet. If two or more
planes are entering from a fix in a short period, they will be separated by
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1000 feet, and all will be at 6000 feet or above. Airplanes taking off
from an airport are at 0 feet. Planes will stay in level flight unless
told to change altitude. They climb or descend at the rate of 1000 feet
per mile.
To change altitude, give the plane's ID followed by the letter "a"
followed by the desired new altitude. For example,
<18> Command: XA5
tells plane X to go to 5000 feet.
Taking off and landing are special cases of the altitude command. If
the plane is waiting to take off, its altitude is 0. Giving it any change
of altitude will cause it to take off in the normal direction for that
airport. The takeoff/landing direction is shown for each airport in the
bottom right section of the screen at the beginning of the game; it is also
shown in the flight strip for planes taking off.
To land a plane, make sure it is (or will be) heading toward the
correct airport in the correct direction, then send it to altitude 0. This
is the last command that can be given to the airplane, since it passes
control to the airport tower. To land, the plane must be at 0 altitude one
mile before the airport. If the plane flies over the airport at altitude 0
from the wrong direction, it will go back up to 1000 feet and give the
controller another chance to land it. This is logged as a "go-around"
error.
The flight strip reflects changing altitude. For example,
Dp :->2 7v3 S 9
indicates that plane D is now at altitude 7000 feet and is descending to
3000.
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7_.5_ Turning_______
Turning planes will turn at the rate of 45 degrees per mile. To turn
a plane, give the plane's ID, the direction of turn, and the new bearing.
The direction of turn is one of the letters "l", "r", or "t". "l" and "r"
specify a turn to the pilot's left or right, and "t" means to turn through
the minimum angle to reach the specified bearing. ("t" is useful for
people who have trouble with left and right.) For example,
<47> Command: ULNE
tells the pilot of plane U to turn to his left until he is heading
northeast. If plane Y is heading north, the command
<47> Command: YTE
will cause the plane to turn right 90 degrees; if it is heading south the
same command will cause it to turn left 90 degrees.
Changes of direction are indicated in the flight strip. For example,
Nj :->5 5 S r W +
indicates that jet N is heading south, and will turn 90 degrees to the
right.
To cancel the remaining part of a turn, give the command (for plane
N):
<23> Command: NR0
The Ann Arbor keypad used for +/- PAGE, cursor motion, etc., may be used to
supply the new bearing. The usual N/S/E/W correspondence is used:
----------------
|-PAG|HOME|+PAG|
| NW | N | NE |
|----+----+----|
|-SCH| UP |+SCH|
| W |STRT| E |
|----+----+----|
|LEFT|DOWN|RGHT|
| SW | S | SE |
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----------------
7_.6_ Using_____ Navaids_______
Navaids (navigational aids, VORs, or radio beacons) are very useful
for giving longer-range plans to the pilot. All incoming planes are on
airways that will intersect one or more navaids. The navaids may be used
to tell the plane where to "hold", or to vector it toward an airport or an
exit fix. "Holding" means continuously making left turns, which will cause
the plane to pass over the navaid every eight updates until it is given a
direction or runs out of fuel.
Any plane can be told to hold at the next navaid it encounters by
giving it the command (for airplane A):
<18> Command: AH
This will show up on the flight strip as
Ap :->2 5 S * 7
After beginning to hold, the "*" will change to an "h" and the
direction of turn will be indicated. To override the automatic hold give
the command (for plane N)
<23> Command: NR0
This is the same command used to cancel a turn.
Every incoming plane that will be landing automatically holds at a
navaid unless the controller gives it other instructions.
An airplane can be told to proceed toward any known fix when it
reaches the next navaid. This is called "clearing" the plane. To clear
plane X for the approach to # Airport, give the command
<18> Command: X*#
Use % for % Airport, or the symbol of an exit fix to vector the plane in
that direction. A plane cleared to turn at a navaid will turn sharply.
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If a plane is cleared through a navaid, it will show up with an
asterisk on the flight strip. For example,
Hj .->2 5 S *5 +
indicates that plane H will head in the exit direction for fix 5 when it
encounters a navaid. Note that H must encounter a navaid for the command
to take effect.
A holding aircraft given a clearance will continue around to the
navaid, then immediately assume the specified bearing. If a cleared
aircraft is given a turn, any clearance or hold is immediately cancelled.
7_.7_ Speeding________ up__ the___ clock_____
During quiet spells when everything is under control, typing a space
followed by return advances the clock to the next 15-second tick.
8_. Designing_________ new___ airspaces_________
The system airspaces are stored in /usr/rand/jim/atc/airspaces on the
VAX, and /mnt/jim/atc/airspaces on the PDP-11/45. Users may define their
own airspaces and use them (Section 2), or have them included at the end of
the system airspace file.
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The coordinate system for an MxN screen is:
---------------------
|0,0 M,0|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|0,N M,N|
---------------------
The different objects on the screen are defined as follows:
Apple1
size: 15x24
airway: 1=(0,13) SE 8=(10,23)
airway: 0=(4,0) S 9=(4,23)
airway: 2=(14,15) NW 7=(0,1)
airway: 3=(0,9) NE 6=(9,0)
airway: 4=(14,7) SW 5=(0,21)
airport: %=(4,11) S
airport: #=(10,11) NE
navaid: *=(4,5)
navaid: *=(4,17)
The size field is restricted only by the size of the Ann Arbor screen. The
direction on an airway is the entry direction from the first fix; the
designer must ensure that each airway connects two entry/exit fixes, and
that each entry/exit fix is on an airway. If more than 20 entry/exit
fixes, 5 airports, or 5 navaids are desired, the program must be recompiled
after the change to EMAX, AMAX, or NMAX respectively in the source file
"ahdr.h".
9_. Things______ to__ come____
Several additions are planned to the ATC simulation in the near
future. The most important is definition of the "Clearance Directive
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List," a list of absolute locations on the screen and actions to take at
the location. The user will use this feature to establish plans for
airplanes without having to monitor for completion of each part.
Another major modification will enable ATC to be run by another
program, using a data transfer protocol designed to minimize the
communication requirements.
These features will be documented as they are implemented.
ATC With Plans
Delayed commands may be specified using the "@" command:
@<location>,<command>[,<command> ...]
The comma is required after the location and between commands.
The command is any normal legal airplane control command.
A location may be any of the unique identified points on the screen:
entries, airports, or navaids. Note that the navaids now have different
identifiers. The navaid command still uses a '*' or ':'.
Example: @3,AA2
A location may be further specified by giving the number of miles in
each direction from a known fix, e.g.
@#sw3s2,ARE
which means at the point which can be reached by going three
miles SW from fix #, then two miles S, plane A should begin
a right turn until heading E.
When the plane specified in the command reaches the location, the
command is executed automatically.
The information command shows all delayed commands pending for that plane.
Stored commands for plane A (for example) may be expunged with
<23> A?
Fine points:
A plane can be given commands to take effect when it
comes onto the screen; it need not be active to get the first
commands for its delayed list.
To issue a navaid command for a later navaid, give a delayed
command to take effect at the NEXT navaid. Since navaids are
now identified differently, it will recognize the point and
issue the navaid command when it arrives at the first one.
Movie mode:
The flag -p=filename will save the keystroke file and timing
information for a game in the specified file. There is enough
information to re-create the game ASSUMING you use the same
version of ATC.
To re-play the game in movie mode, use
atc -m=filename
The game will use the same seed as before, and the traffic
pattern will be identical. At any point the observer can
interject commands. Probably the only useful command will
be to request information, since the remembered commands will
still be inserted at the remembered time.
Flow control:
When a game is started, ATC looks for the file <airspace>.flow
in the directory /usr/rand/jim/atc to establish a traffic pattern.
For example, if the airspace is Apple3, it uses the file
/usr/rand/jim/atc/Apple3.flow .
The flow file contains one line for each legal path through the
airspace. Each line is left-adjusted, and consists of an origin,
the symbol "->" (for "goes to"), the destination, a space, and
the relative frequency of this path. The expected frequency for
this path is its relative frequency divided by the sum of the
relative frequencies for all the paths. Some examples are:
1->5 5
1->8 10
2-># 10
2->% 5
2->6 5
%->% 5
#->% 10
Blank lines are ignored (for spacing).
Any path with no relative frequency is assumed to have frequency 0.
Things to come:
(1) There will be a capability for canned procedures.