The Chair of Flight Guidance and Air Transport holds an over 25 years’ experience in the conduction of simulations using certified and high fidelity full flight simulators. Between 1993 and 2009 a Canadian Aviation Electronics (CAE) JAR STD 1A Level D certified Airbus A330/340 simulator (convertible) was located on the TU Berlin campus at the Chair of Flight Guidance and Air Transport. In collaboration with Lufthansa Aviation Training (LAT), the simulator was used both for flight crew training and several research projects in the field of flight guidance, flight operations, human machine interface and cockpit design (see references). In this context, the A330/A340 full flight simulator was the first one worldwide to have a dedicated scientific research facility. This unique set-up – in combination with the software Flight Management System (FMS) – offered the possibility to perform any kind of evaluation and integration of flight guidance- and flight mechanic-related research and development within a full-certified simulation environment.

In 2009, the simulator was sold by its operating company (Zentrum für Flugsimulation Berlin GmbH) to the Finnair Training Academy. Since then, the cooperation between the Chair of Flight Guidance and Air Transport and the LAT was extended to the entire full flight simulator fleet operated by the LAT. By working with the simulator software for the preparation of specific evaluation set-ups and data recording functionalities the gained experience was fully transferred to several simulator types (e.g. Airbus A340, Boeing B737, Boeing B777).

Furthermore, the overall access to the entire fleet of full flight simulators offers the possibility of broad research projects in the field of flight guidance and flight operations since 2009. LFT accepts scientific staff of the Chair to operate all simulators independently without any further operational and technical assistance.

Based on past research projects the Chair of Flight Guidance and Air Transport is capable to implement and handle tailored navigation databases for the entire fleet of full flight simulators operated by the LAT. This includes the procedure design and ARINC 424 coding, the transfer to specific FMS manufacturer coding and final loading into the FMS of the appropriate full flight simulator. Collaborations with several FMS manufacturers like Honeywell, General Electrics, Rockwell Collins and Universal are available during the entire process. In addition, the Chair holds a close partnership with Jeppesen (a Boeing Company) providing specific competence and long-lasting experience in the field of flight planning, navigation data, procedure design and mobile flight deck solutions.

Many successful completed research projects in the past have verified the high level of quality, professionalism and competence of the Chair of Flight guidance and Air Transport in performing flight simulation studies for sophisticated research purposes. Besides the full access to state-of-the-art full flight simulators of LAT and its complex adjustment to individual research needs it comprises a network of full-certified, active commercial airline pilots. The access to this extensive network allows the continuous and high-quality support of pilots with diverse experience level (ranging from captain to examiner) on modern aircraft types.

• Schubert, E. (2015): Research on High Fidelity Simulator Scenario Design to Evaluate Crew Performance in Abnormal and Surprising Situations, Presentation on the Asia Pacific Airline Training Symposium (APATS 2015), Bangkok, Thailand.
• Smedt, D., de Robert, E., Behrend, F. (2014). RNP to Precision Approach Transition Flight Simulations. In Proceedings of the Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC). Vortrag anlässlich der DASC 2014, Colorado Springs, USA.
• Haslbeck, A., Kirchner, P., Schubert, E. & Bengler, K. [2014]. A Flight Simulator Study to Evaluate Manual Flying Skills of Airline Pilots. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting (Vol. 58, S. 11–15), doi: 10.1177/1541931214581003
• Schubert, E. & Haslbeck, A. [2014]. Gestaltungskriterien für Szenarien in Flugsimulatoren zur Untersuchung von Verhalten und Leistung von Verkehrspiloten. In M. Grandt & S. Schmerwitz (Hrsg.), Der Mensch zwischen Automatisierung, Kompetenz und Verantwortung. 56. Fachausschusssitzung Anthropotechnik (DGLR-Bericht, 2014-01, S. 125–137 / ISBN 978-3-932182-81-2). DGLR e.V., Bonn.
• Haslbeck, A., Gontar, P. & Schubert, E. [2014]. How Can Procedures and Checklists Help Pilots in Abnormal Flight Situations? In N. A. Stanton, S. J. Landry, G. Di Bucchianico & A. Vallicelli (Hrsg.), Advances in Human Aspects of Transportation. Part II (S. 456–461). AHFE International.
• Appel, B., Schubert, E. & Hüttig, G. [2013]. Objektive Bewertung von Pilotenleistungen in Full-Flight-Simulatoren unter Normalbedingungen und in Notsituationen. In M. Grandt & S. Schmerwitz (Hrsg.), Ausbildung und Training in der Fahrzeug- und Prozessführung. 55. Fachausschusssitzung Anthropotechnik (DGLR-Bericht, 2013-01, S. 119–137 / ISBN 978-3-932182-79-0). DGLR e.V., Bonn.
• Schubert, E., Appel, B. & Hüttig, G. [2013]. Pilot/Crew Training : Assessment of Manual Flying Skills by combining Aircraft Parameters with Pilot Control Inputs, In Proceedings of the 17th International Symposium on Aviation Psychology (ISAP). Vortrag anlässlich der ISAP 2013, Dayton (OH), USA.