New Project: micro-synthetic-atc – Open Source Virtual ATC & Ground Handling for Aerofly!

🛫 New Project: micro-synthetic-atc – Open Source Virtual ATC & Ground Handling for Aerofly!

dear all!

I’m excited to share the first version of micro-synthetic-atc, a small open-source project that aims to simulate basic Air Traffic Control (ATC) and ground handling for Aerofly and other flight simulators.

GitHub - AeroSageMage/micro-synthetic-atc: A micro, open-source virtual ATC and ground handling simulation for Aerofly and other flight sims.

A micro, open-source virtual ATC and ground handling simulation for Aerofly and other flight sims. - AeroSageMage/micro-synthetic-atc

github.com

What is it?

This is an embryonic (work-in-progress!) framework for detecting aircraft position on the ground (parking, taxiway, runway, etc.), visualizing it in a simple GUI, and laying the groundwork for more advanced ATC and airport operations logic. The goal is to create a community-driven, modular system that can grow with your ideas and contributions.

Features so far

- Position detection: Real-time logic to determine if an aircraft is parked, taxiing, holding, on the runway, or airborne.
- Live GUI: A simple Tkinter interface to visualize the current state and debug the detection logic.
- Reference docs: Notes and diagrams on ground handling, ATC clearances, and suggested data structures for future expansion.

Why share now?

This is just a starting point! I’d love for the Aerofly and flight sim community to:
- Suggest features and improvements
- Contribute code, airport layouts, or new logic
- Help shape the direction of the project

How to get started

- Check out the repo: [https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/micro-synthetic-atc](https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/micro-synthetic-atc)
- Read the README for setup and usage instructions
- Try the GUI and see how it detects your aircraft’s position
- Open issues, fork, or submit pull requests with your ideas!

Special thanks

This project also includes code from my [Rewinger](https://github.com/emanuele-f/rewinger) repo (in the `inspiration` folder) and the great Jugac64 AirTracker!

Let’s build something cool together for Aerofly and beyond!
Looking forward to your feedback and contributions.

— SageMage

Please be aware that this is just a proof of concept that we can track a plane position and start determining the next steps, so there is nothing actually really functional

Before I go to vacation, I wanted to share a new version with some improvements.

NOTE: no ATC available as yet, but it identifies the position of the aircraft around the airport if there is the JSON data.

🚀 New Features

1. Enhanced Position Detection System
- Real-time detection of aircraft position with improved accuracy
- Support for multiple airport areas:
- Parking positions
- Taxiways
- Holding points
- Runways
- In-flight detection
- Detailed position information including:
- Specific location names
- Taxiway identification
- Runway information
- Distance to center
- Heading and speed data

2. Airport Visualization Tools
- Interactive map display
- Real-time aircraft position tracking
- Airport layout visualization
- Debug information display
- Support for custom airport data

3. Documentation Suite
- Detailed implementation guide
- ATC communication patterns
- Ground handling concepts
- Crew communication procedures
- Technical documentation

🛠️ Technical Improvements

1. New Airport Data Format
- JSON-based airport layout definitions
- Support for multiple airports
- Detailed runway, taxiway, and parking definitions
- Real-world coordinate support
- Extensible data structure

2. Enhanced Utilities
- Geographical calculations
- Coordinate transformations
- Distance and heading calculations
- Position validation tools

📚 Documentation Highlights for future implementation

1. ATC Communication Guide - ONLY FOR REFERENCE for future implementations
- Standard message formats
- Common responses
- Acknowledgment words and meanings
- Regional variations
- Callsign usage rules
- Phonetic alphabet guide

2. Ground Handling Concepts
- Pushback procedures
- Taxi operations
- Runway operations
- Holding point management
- Parking procedures

3. Implementation Details
- System architecture
- Component interactions
- Data flow diagrams
- Error handling
- Future extensions

🎯 Getting Started

1. Prerequisites
- Python 3.8+
- Tkinter
- Required dependencies (see README)

2. Basic Setup

  ```bash
  # Clone the repository
  git clone [repository-url]
  
  # Install dependencies
  pip install -r requirements.txt
  ```

3. Running the System

  # Start the position detector GUI
  python position_detector_gui.py
  # and select the airport from the airport_data folder --> suggestion, use LOWG
  # Visualize airport layout
  python tools/airport_visualizer.py
  ```

🔍 Example Usage

### Position Detection

# Initialize the system
detector = PositionDetector(airport_manager)
# Get position information
position_info = detector.detect_position(coordinates, heading)
# Format and display
print(detector.format_position_info(position_info))

Quote from rz7

Is this project still active?

Yes! Project is still active - just came back from vacation and actual work is taking most of my time right now. But you can contribute!

Quote from iamnotapilot2025

Just stumbled upon this project, super great one! I would love to see the full verson, and if it is possible to try out the current version?

Hi, you can check on GitHub the current version - there is no "full version" as this is an embryonal state of an ATC handler... really at first stages.

Quote from jtp

Hello and thank-you for your aspiration and contribution, do you anticipate this project to be able to interact with the current ai; as of now they just land and disappear. Ideally it would be nice to be able to control them with instructions to park and then even put them on a schedule for departing again.

Thank-you.

Yeah I’m not the dev of the Sim, so until we can have traffic injection we won’t be able to do anything of that. Sorry…