Our pushback and towing simulator was developed together with Goldhofer and includes all three of these tractor models. Any transition between them can be trained in advance. On your own stands, with your own operators, before a single new machine touches the apron.
Ground handling fleets are moving between tractor types more than they used to, and not in one fixed direction. BISON to PHOENIX. PHOENIX to ATLAS 2. BISON straight to ATLAS 2. Some operations run two types side by side for years and never fully converge.
Each of those transitions creates the same practical problem. The operator is qualified on the machine they have been driving, the new machine changes something about how the job is done, and the window in which both machines exist is short, busy and expensive.
The simulator exists to take that problem off the apron. We developed it together with Goldhofer, whose team was involved from the start of the project through to the validation of each vehicle model. The BISON, the PHOENIX AST-2E and the ATLAS 2 are all in the same system, with each model validated against the behaviour of the real machine.
They do it on their own stands, on their own airport layout. We replicate the customer's aerodrome in full, and more than one if the operation covers several stations, so the stands in the simulator are the stands the operator will actually work: the same layout, the same approach lines, the same tight corners and the same poor sightlines.
Four ways operations use it
Pre-training, before delivery. The transition can start while the new tractor is still being built. Operators arrive at the handover already familiar with the machine, its pick-up sequence and the way it behaves on their own stands. The delivery date no longer marks the beginning of the learning curve.
Blended with live apron training. The simulator is not a replacement for supervised line training, and it is not designed to be. It provides the repetitions, mistakes and non-normal situations that are difficult to fit into live operations, while real apron time can focus on consolidating those skills. By the time an operator performs their first pushback on the new machine, they have already practised the sequence many times.
Vehicle familiarisation. Controls, instrumentation, sightlines, the pick-up sequence and the feel of the combination under load. The things an operator normally learns gradually through weeks of live work can be introduced, repeated and reinforced in a controlled environment.
Stand and procedure familiarisation. A new tractor can change how a stand is worked: the approach, positioning, connection or pick-up, the manoeuvre itself, disconnection and what the operator needs to monitor at each stage. Because the airport is modelled in full, these procedures can be rehearsed stand by stand on the actual layoutrather than on a generic apron. This is particularly valuable on the positions where margins are tightest.
Mixed-fleet training. During a transition period, operators may need to stay current on two tractor types at the same time. Both vehicles remain available in the simulator, allowing operators to switch between them and practise the differences without depending on what is currently available on the apron.
What the transition training has to cover
The content of a transition syllabus depends on which move is being made. Two examples, using Goldhofer's own descriptions of the vehicles.
BISON to PHOENIX AST-2E
The transition from BISON to PHOENIX AST-2E can be a significant change, particularly for operators who have worked with a BISON for years. For some, it may also be their first experience with a towbarless tractor, and in operations where there is only one tractor per station, there may be little opportunity to build familiarity before the changeover.
The towbar is replaced by a nose landing gear pick-up system, changing the way the aircraft is connected and how the tractor and aircraft behave as a combination. The steering geometry, visual references and the sequence before and during pushback all require the operator to adjust their habits.
The transition also expands the range of aircraft the operator may be handling. Goldhofer states that the PHOENIX AST-2E covers around 70% of the passenger and cargo aircraft market, up to 352 t MTOW.For an operator moving from a BISON, that can mean not only learning a new tractor, but also becoming comfortable with a wider range of aircraft and towing situations.
In the simulator, operators can work through the transition step by step:
Approaching, aligning and picking up the nose landing gear
Adapting to the different steering behaviour and new visual reference points
Practising the new pushback sequence until it becomes familiar
Running the same aircraft and stand first with the BISON and then with the PHOENIX AST-2E, making the differences easier to recognise
Working on constrained stands where positioning margins are limited
Braking and stopping on wet or contaminated surfaces
Communication timing throughout the pushback sequence
Disconnection and clearance procedures
Aircraft-specific limitations and operating considerations
Long-distance towing
Non-normal situations that are difficult to reproduce during busy live operations
The aim is not simply to teach the new machine, but to give operators enough repetition with the new way of working that the changeover feels familiar before it becomes part of the daily operation.
PHOENIX AST-2E to ATLAS 2
This transition may look more straightforward on paper because the ATLAS 2 builds on the proven PHOENIX platform and carries over key elements, including the pick-up system. But a familiar platform does not mean that the operator's way of working stays exactly the same.
The ATLAS 2 introduces more guidance and system support during the operation. The pick-up process is guided, the aircraft type is verified, and the system regulates permissible braking and towing forces according to the aircraft being handled. The vehicle also introduces features supporting emergency shut-off, automatic locking and all-round visibility.
For training, the important part is understanding where the machine supports the operator and where the operator still needs to make the decision. Operators need to know what the system is doing during a normal operation, so they can recognise when something is outside that normal pattern.
Examples of what the operator can practise in the simulator:
Routine pushback with the system guidance working as intended, repeated until the normal sequence becomes second nature
The guided pick-up process: what the machine indicates, what is being verified, and how to react when something does not match
Working with the vehicle's force regulation and understanding which parts of the operation remain the operator's responsibility
Recognising an abnormal system state before it develops into a larger issue
The emergency switch-off and automatic lock as part of the operator's practical response, rather than simply a procedure to remember
Using the 360° visibility effectively during manoeuvring and developing a consistent visual scan
Multi-gate working: moving between stands and adapting to different stand allocations
Planning charge state across a shift, alongside the departures the operator is committed to
From transition risk to training plan
Two more things are worth practising regardless of which direction the transition runs. The first is a paired run: the same aircraft, the same stand, the same weather, performed first on the machine the operator knows and then immediately on the one they are moving to. Everything except the vehicle is held constant, so the only thing that changes is how the machine behaves, and the operator feels that difference instead of being told about it. The real challenge in a transition is often the reflexes carried over from the previous tractor. A briefing alone does not change those habits. The second is the mixed-fleet reality of switching between two types within a single shift, which is exactly what a changeover period can involve.
Because every operator runs the same scenarios on the same stands, the results are comparable rather than anecdotal: on a like-for-like basis, per operator, per station and per machine. Session recording and scoring, including export into your own training records, can be built in on request.
That makes a transition something you can plan and evidence rather than something you get through.
All three vehicle models are already built into the simulator. If your operation is moving between any two of them, or running two side by side, training for that transition can start now.
Talk to us
Meet us at GSE Expo Europe in Lisbon from 15 to 17 September 2026, at stand D57 or find our representative at Goldhofer Stand H11. The simulator will be on the stand, and you can run a pushback yourself on any of the three tractors.
Sources: Goldhofer press release on the »ATLAS« 2 world premiere at the International GSE Expo, 17 September 2025; »ATLAS« 2 product brochure (08/2025); »BISON« Family brochure (08/2025); Goldhofer review of GSE Expo Europe 2024.
