The study described in this paper originally aimed at studying the human factors problems of airborne separation in a Free Flight environment. However, to define the Free Flight environment with sufficient detail, an overall concept was also designed at NLR. This concept includes rules-of-the-sky, conflict detection, a conflict resolution algorithm, cockpit displays, system specification as well as an assessment of operational implications. The feasibility of the concept has been evaluated in three sub-studies: (i) off-line traffic simulations with very high traffic densities and a total of up to 300 aircraft in the incinity, (ii) a safety analysis comparing the resolution method with current day ATC and (iii) a man-in-the-loop simulator experiment with line pilots in traffic densities up to three times the average West-European traffic density in the particular airspace. None of these studies could refute the feasibility of the achieved Free Flight conceptual design.
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