EASA Is Rewriting Simulator Rules. Read This Before You Buy Your Next FSTD

SkyManager Team · Published 2026-10-05

EASA has replaced fixed simulator levels with an FSTD Capability Signature and an optional task-to-tool approach. The rules don't bind DGCA, but they will shape the devices Indian training organisations buy for years to come.

From levels to capabilities

For decades, simulators have been described by type and level, such as FNPT II, FFS Level D and so on. The level told a regulator what training a device could be credited for. On 15 July 2026, EASA announced it is replacing that model in Europe.

Under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/781 and the new certification specifications CS-FSTD Issue 1, devices will be described by an FSTD Capability Signature (FCS). This is a standard description of a device's features and the level of fidelity it achieves in each. Instead of asking "what level is this simulator?", the question becomes "what can this simulator actually do, and how well?"

The rules also add qualification requirements and guidance for touchscreen flight-deck interfaces and extended reality (XR).

Task-to-tool: start from the training need

The second change is an optional methodology EASA calls task-to-tool. The traditional approach works from the device: here is a Level D simulator, so here is what it can be used for. Task-to-tool works the other way. The training organisation identifies what a training task needs, then picks a device whose capability signature meets those needs.

EASA's initial focus is aeroplane and helicopter type-rating training and operator recurrent training. That is the airline end of the training pipeline rather than ab-initio flying.

When it applies

The regulation entered into force on 30 April 2026 and applies from 30 April 2028, after a two-year transition. EASA is running an implementation programme alongside it: an online webinar in September 2026, an information session in Cologne on 15 December 2026, workshops through 2027, and an Implementation Support Manual planned for early 2027.

Why Indian training organisations should still pay attention

The devices are built for the biggest regulator. Many simulators and training devices used in India come from European manufacturers or are qualified to EASA standards. Over the next two years, vendors will redesign their documentation, and in some cases their products, around capability signatures. The device you buy in 2027 will probably be specified that way, whatever DGCA does.

Resale and upgrade paths will change. A simulator bought today under a level-based description may later need re-documenting against a capability signature to stay attractive to buyers or upgradeable by the manufacturer. Ask how a vendor will support existing devices through the transition.

Airlines and type-rating centres will move first. Indian airlines and the training centres they use often work across EASA and DGCA regimes. If your FTO feeds cadets into a type-rating provider, how that provider uses capability-based training will shape what it expects your graduates to arrive with.

Questions to ask your simulator vendor

  1. Will this device have a published FSTD Capability Signature, and when?
  2. How will existing level-based qualifications be mapped or carried over?
  3. Which features in the signature are upgradeable later (visuals, motion, avionics, touchscreen interfaces), and at what cost?
  4. Has the vendor discussed DGCA qualification of this device under current Indian rules?
  5. What data does the device export about sessions, exercises and student performance, so simulator time sits in the same training record as flight time?

Capability is only half the story

A capability signature tells you what a device can do. It doesn't tell you whether it is used. For many FTOs, the bigger problem is not the simulator's level but how much it is actually used. See Your Simulator Is Probably Your Most Under-Used Asset. Whatever device you buy, plan the schedule, the syllabus mapping and the record-keeping around it before it arrives.

Sources:EASA press release, 15 July 2026 · EASA ED Decision 2026/006/R · EASA ED Decision 2026/008/R (CS-FSTD) · Transportstyrelsen: Regulation (EU) 2026/781 · Halldale: The rise of FSTD Capability Signature

Cover photo: A350-900 full flight simulator cockpit by Ilari Kousa, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.