Lucky pilots who get to fly the company’s new business jet home will find that their introduction to the aircraft includes some new avionics, something to do with that oft-heard term “NextGen” (Next Generation Air Transportation System). These products carry a confusing set of acronyms such as ADS-B, Fans, CPDLC, RNP and others, and some of what this stuff does is completely invisible to the pilot, while other uses require active pilot participation as well as training.

The rest of the fleet of older business jets will need upgrades to meet upcoming NextGen mandates, and while these are steadily becoming more available there are certification and availability issues that might affect operators of some business aircraft. Not all NextGen features are mandatory, but equipping the aircraft to certain NextGen standards can improve the services available from ATC organizations.