SIMMOD Engine Maintenance Status

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SIMMOD EngineMaintenance Status

• European SIMMOD Users Group Presentation
• Paris, France
• 24 - 25 April 2003

ATAC Corporation
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GENERAL ACTIVITIES

• ATAC continues engine maintenance
• Engine available free after registering with
  website
• www.atac.com/simmod
• Engine beta version 2.5.1.34 (8 April 2003)
• Newsgroup server (simmodnews.atac.com)
• Online starting in May June 2003

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GENERAL ACTIVITIES

• Simmod PLUS! version 6.0 will be released May
  June 2003
• Improvements to the user interface
• Transition to the Java Swing look-and-feel
• Consistency and simplification of menus, input
  windows, and builders
• New Graphics Manager
• New CAD dxf converter
• Color and visibility of individual layers are
  selectable
• Importation of gif images

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MAINTENANCE

• Landing Problems Fixed
• A memory fault could occur when an aircraft
  executed a missed approach.
• The final approach wake turbulence separations
  and arrival spread factors applied only to the
  last link of an arrival route. A new global
  variable num_final_app_links allows the user to
  specify the number of final approach links for
  which the final approach separation values and
  spread factors apply. If missing, this global
  value defaults to 1.

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MAINTENANCE

• Stagger Problem Fixed
• The stagger logic was not using final approach
  wake turbulence separation values when
  calculating the estimated time of arrival to an
  interface node nor did it consider any arrival
  spread that may be in affect for the interface
  node.

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MAINTENANCE

• Dynamic Re-routing Problems Fixed
• Aircraft on routes with shared links would switch
  at the first node in common rather than the
  shared meter node.
• Aircraft on routes with a defined missed-approach
  path would not dynamically switch to another
  route.

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MAINTENANCE

• Towing Problems Fixed
• The engine would not always choose the correct
  GATETOW record (taxipath) in situations where a
  flight specifies a towing area that is used by
  more than one gate.
• For flights with a specific towing area, the
  logic would ignore any GATETOW records that
  specify a concourse (rather than gate) in
  combination with that towing area.
• For flights with no applicable GATETOW record,
  SIMMOD would use the taxipath from GATERWY if an
  applicable one was available.

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MAINTENANCE

• SIMU14 Problems Fixed
• The value for gate use time (4th field of the 2nd
  line) for continuing departures (turnaround
  flights) did not include the gate turnaround
  time, only the departure boarding time.
• The values for the total taxi out time (13th
  field of the 1st line) and the departure queue
  delay (12th field of the 2nd line) can be
  incorrect for a departure flight in which the
  aircraft taxiied from the departure queue to the
  runway yet the runway is occupied.

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MAINTENANCE

• SIMU26 Problem Fixed
• Previously, no code was written for airspace node
  to ground node transitions (the final airspace
  node of an arrival route) because no simulation
  time elapses at this node. Likewise, no record
  was written for ground node to airspace node
  transitions (the final node of a takeoff roll).
  Records for these events are now written.
• A complete list of all changes to the SIMMOD
  engine since version 2.2.24.1 is available at
  www.atac.com/simmod/beta/changes.html

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POSSIBLE FUTURE CHANGES

• Allow a concourse as an origin/destination
• Currently, the origin/destination of a flight can
  only be a gate.
• Allow each airport to have its own plan
• Currently, one plan affects all airports in a
  model. This is significant limitation for models
  with multiple airports.
• Enhance departure queue passing
• Allow a departure flight to specify the maximum
  delay it is willing to incur and/or the maximum
  number of times it can be passed.