Avionics News December 2012 - 21

More good news: product choices are growing for equipment capable of satisfying a mandate for ADS-B Out by 2020, as well as affordable options for enjoying the 978 UAT carrots of ADS-B In. It’s welcome progress for pilots, and it should be for shop owners and avionics vendors, as well. The progress also helps answer concerns about transponder redundancy and avoiding any failure traps that could render an expensive ADS-B Out solution unable to meet the regulatory requirements for airspace access after the deadline passes.
A TRILOGY OF WASTED WORRIES: NOW MOVING FORWARD, STEP-BY-STEP

You want ADS-B In, but the FAA’s set no standards – what do you do? What if you invest and it turns out to be at odds with a subsequent TSO?
held as a carrot to a user group unconvinced of the need, commitment and deadline for ADS-B Out? First, the FAA did issue a TSO for the 978 UAT – the universal access transceiver, which handles both Out and In needs of ADS-B on 978 MHz. Budget solutions are growing. The FAA liked 978 MHz UAT technology because it held promise to deliver a Part 23-priced solution for ADS-B Out that would attract pilots through the availability of two subscription-costs-free services called Flight Information Service-Broadcast and Traffic Information System-Broadcast. Every ADS-B ground station broadcasts those two services universally across the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii. Thousands of pilots see the high costs for installed collision-avoidance equipment and datalink weather receivers. Spending $15,000 for the two, installed, plus a display for the weather, simply doesn’t fit for many pilots that fly airplanes worth less than $30,000. The investment gets even more unbalanced for the many aviators who own airplanes worth barely $20,000, plus the $50 per month cost of a datalink weather receiver subscription service. That’s another $600 a year for the privilege of using a

Two years ago, pilots commonly lamented on the lack of affordable solutions to the ADS-B mandate, which looms in 2020. Last year, new solutions began to emerge with decidedly reduced costs calculation for ADS-B Out. Then, a new lament emerged from many pilots: What’s happened to ADS-B In? The third question: is a transponder still required once an ADS-B Out solution is installed? This month, we attempt to update these issues and illustrate how the industry is answering those concerns.
FIRST UP: ERGO ADS-B IN?

To be fair, the widespread expressions of doubt accompanied pilots’ surprise and disappointment at the FAA’s hesitation to invest in a technical service order to define approved ADS-B In. You want ADS-B In, but the FAA’s set no standards – what do you do? What if you invest and it turns out to be at odds with a subsequent TSO? For those who care that their equipment meets commercial standards, who could blame them? The worries morphed further and played out in many owners’ and pilots’ hesitation to consider most ADS-B options. If the FAA is not behind a TSO, is it truly committed to maintaining the ADS-B In services the FAA long

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Avionics News December 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News December 2012