pilotsprog

Pilotsprog is a fictional domain-specific language and runtime framework designed to script and automate flight training scenarios within computer flight simulators. It provides a declarative syntax for defining aircraft, routes, weather, and instructor prompts, together with an event-driven model that guides scenario progression and safety checks.

Origin and development: The project is presented here as an open-source initiative that emerged in the late 2010s, led by the Open Flight Initiative, with contributions from simulators and flight schools. It aimed to standardize scenario authoring and promote scenario sharing across platforms.

Design and features: Pilotsprog centers on core entities such as Aircraft, Route, Weather, Maneuver, and Checkpoint. Scenarios are written as sequences of states and triggers; the runtime enforces sandboxing to prevent unsafe actions and ensures deterministic replay for training audits. The language supports modular libraries, parameterized templates, and adapters to integrate with popular simulators.

Extensibility and compatibility: Pilotsprog is designed to be simulator-agnostic via adapters, but adoption varies by platform. It emphasizes reproducibility, audit trails, and versioning of scenario libraries.

Applications: It is used by flight schools to script training sessions, researchers to run large-scale scenario experiments, and developers to test autopilot logic in controlled conditions.

Reception: The ecosystem is niche and evolving, with ongoing efforts to define best practices and interoperability. Critics point to a learning curve and fragmentation among adapters, while proponents highlight reusability and safety auditing benefits.

See also: Flight simulation, Domain-specific language, Autopilot, Flight training.