This page is selectable from the Master Index page and allows you to control the FANS simulation.
The FANS simulation consists of three processes:
AFN is responsible for initiating contact between the aircraft and ATC. When the flight crew logon, AFN transmits a downlink message containing details of the aircraft (such as flight number, tail number, equipment revisions) to the ATC centre selected by the crew. The ATC centre responds with an acknowledgement indicating successful logon. This acknowledgement is echoed at the top of the FANS Main Menu page.
Once logged on, ADS and CPDLC communications are initiated by the instructor acting as the ATC centre. Neither ADS or CPDLC communications are possible until AFN logon has been successfully completed.
ADS allows ATC centres to request aircraft information (such as position, speed, ETA) by establishing a contract between the ATC and the aircraft. Contracts can request periodic reports, event-driven reports (for example, on passing through an altitude), or demand-driven reports (once only, on request). These reports are controlled from the ADS Period Reports and the ADS Event Reports pages.
CPDLC allows communication between an air traffic controller and the flight crew. A library of pre-defined messages is provided on the FANS Routes page. A free text facility is provided on the CPDLC page.
All messages are delivered via SATCOM.
When a downlink message is received, the Downlink Message Overlay is automatically displayed to allow you to read the message and then to prepare and send a response.