THE FLIGHT SIMULATION TRAINING DEVICE QUALIFICATION TEST GUIDE

摘要

The concept of the Qualification Test Guide was first introduced about 35 years ago as part of the FAA's Advanced Simulation Plan. It was. at that time referred to as the Acceptance Test Guide (ATG) but in the discussions at the International Working Group defining ICAO Document 9625 ed 1 it was changed to QTG in order that it should not be confused with the Acceptance Test Manual (ATM) or Acceptance Test Procedures (ATP). In the intervening years its roots have become forgotten by many of those who use it today. This is, perhaps, because many of those who were involved in its inception have either retired or are no longer involved in the qualification of Flight Simulation Training Devices (FSTD). As a result, its use has often become corrupted and the reasons for its use are no longer fully understood or recognized. Never the less, the QTG has been and continues to be, adopted, by most National Aviation Authorities (NAA) in the world, as a means of qualifying FSTD. One purpose of this paper is to explain what the QTG is, in reference to its original concept., how it should be regarded and how it should be used in order to meet the Rules of these NAA. Each NAA., of which I am aware, uses the QTG in the same way and defines it in their Rules similarly. The question posed by this Conference " what has the QTG ever done for us" was answered when the FAA plan was proposed. In essence, it was offered as a bargain between the Regulatory Authority and the Operator. The FAA said "if you meet these criteria for a Phase Ⅲ device (the highest category covered in the Advanced Simulation Plan and akin in most respects to Level D now), we will allow you to use it for Zero Flight Time Training for pilots appropriately qualified. As both of these conditions are now commonplace we might argue that the question's answer is "it permits ZFT".