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VATSIMIncreasing airport safety is a top priority for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). One of the major components of this effort is the reduction in Runway Incursions (RIs). The FAA has developed the Runway Status Light System (RWSL) as part of its RI prevention program. The RWSL system improves crew Situational Awareness (SA) through accurate and timely indication of runway usage and is designed to be compatible with existing procedures. The RWSL system is a fully automatic, advisory safety system designed to reduce the number and severity of RIs and thus prevent runway accidents while not interfering with airport operations. The system does not require controller input. The RWSL system is driven by an external surveillance system. It processes the information on aircraft position and movements, and uses this information to illuminate the appropriate warning lights on the airport surface. The RWSL system provides a visual indication to pilots and vehicle operators of runway status. The current design of the RWSL system includes Runway Entrance Lights (REL) and Takeoff Hold Lights (THL). RELs alert pilots and vehicle operators on a taxiway that a runway is unsafe to enter or cross. THLs warn pilots in position on a runway that it is unsafe to start (or continue) a take-off. A new component being integrated into the RWSL system is Runway Intersection Lights (RILs), which provide pilots with a warning that the runway/runway intersection they are approaching is unsafe. In addition to these systems that warn pilots who are on the airport surface of potential incursions, there is another component of the RWSL system that informs pilots on approach of possible incursions on the ground: Final Approach Runway Occupancy Signal (FAROS).MITRE's Center for Advanced Aviation Systems Design (CAASD) is exploring the potential of using the VATSIM network as a way to collect information on various aspects of the aviation domain. One of the ways in which CAASD is attempting to utilize the VATSIM community is through having VATSIM pilots fly missions and provide feedback on a component of the RWSL system. There are two main objectives to the experiment. One is to explore which of three FAROS warning light configurations performs the best in preventing runway incursions. The other is to validate using the VATSIM network as a resource for aviation research. If you are interested in participating in the VATSIM FAROS experiment, please sign up here. The experiment will run from XX/20XX through XX/20XX. You will be asked to fly 12 missions, each of which lasts approximately 5 minutes. At the completion of each mission, you will be given a short questionnaire to complete, and there will be another short questionnaire to answer once you have flown all 12 missions. You do not need to fly all missions one right after the other. You can complete the missions at times that are convenient for you. If you are interested in advancing the research on technologies that will be used to aid in the prevention of runway incursions, please sign up as a participant. Once you have signed up, you will be provided with more specific instructions as to your tasks. Thank you!
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