Definition
A computer simulation tool developed by the FAA that models aircraft movements through airports and surrounding airspace to study capacity, delays, and the effects of proposed changes to runways, taxiways, procedures, or traffic flows.
Plain English
A computer program that simulates how airplanes move around an airport and the airspace nearby, used to test ideas before changing anything in the real world.
Context Anchor
You may see SIMMOD in FAA material, airport planning reports, or discussions about airport capacity and airspace changes rather than during normal cockpit operation.
Derivation
The name is a contraction of "simulation model." SIM is the common shorthand for simulation, and MOD is short for model. Put together, SIMMOD simply names what the tool is.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots rarely use SIMMOD directly, but its outputs shape the airports and airspace they fly in. Decisions about new runways, taxiway layouts, arrival procedures, and departure flows are often informed by SIMMOD studies.
Analogy
It is like using a traffic simulator for roads before changing an intersection, except SIMMOD is used for aircraft moving around airports and nearby airspace.
Intuition Check
Do not read SIMMOD as an aircraft system or cockpit instrument. It is a planning and analysis model used to study airport and airspace movement.
Example Sentence 1
The proposed runway extension was evaluated using SIMMOD to predict how it would affect arrival delays during peak hours.
Example Sentence 2
The study used SIMMOD outputs to compare peak-hour throughput before and after proposed airspace changes.