On March 10 next year the FAA is expected to issue its final rule covering mandatory equipage of ADS-B avionics, and agency officials are tight lipped about what, if any, changes will be made to the original draft rule offered for industry comment early last year. At that time, the agency’s proposal met with almost unanimous rejection across the aviation community, from general aviation to the airlines, causing the FAA last fall to establish a special industry advisory committee to develop alternative recommendations. While the committee is still meeting, there have been few hints about whether, in fact, much will change.
Nevertheless, the community at large has a wish list, topped by the hope that the FAA will offer incentives to aircraft owners who simply cannot make a positive business case for ADS-B out. As one pilot put it, “We are supposed to be moving to a performance-based ATC system, with control restrictions if you aren’t properly equipped. But I only fly VFR at a couple of thousand feet, so what good is ADS-B for me, or for ATC?” The Europeans recognize this problem: at the ATC Global conference in Amsterdam in March, a Eurocontrol official told AIN, “Our mandatory ADS-B program exempts aircraft [with an mtow of less than] 12,500 pounds that cruise below 250 knots.” It seems unlikely, however, that the FAA will follow Europe’s lead.
More In ATC
