Ray Winslow of Laughlin, Nevada, notes: “If you are a hobby pilot like me and live outside very congested airspace, do not do anything about ADS-B until this all settles out. This is especially true if your plane is like mine and only losing value every day because flying is becoming a rich man’s game.
I have an IFR airplane with an old KLN90B that will not upgrade to WAAS, 24v KN165s with dual ILS, DME, and an ADF rapidly becoming useless. Yes I have flown my little Swift in a lot of serious IFR fog.
The problem for me is I am retired after long career in aviation and cannot afford this huge expense to upgrade now. (27,000 hours, crop duster, Naval Aviator combat fighter pilot, Continental Airlines 747 and 777 captain, then at 60 on to GLF 2 , 3 and IV.)
This equipment will get less expensive with patience.”
Mr. Winslow, is that Eagle Airfield in Mohave Valley you took that photo from ?? If it is I used to have two hangers their, if fact I was one of the first to build a hanger their. At one time I had two hangers one was 45 ft x 70 ft. wide and the other was 50ft. x50ft. I hangered a Comanche 260B, a RV-4 and a Cessna 210 Centurian. I have great memories and good people stories from there. I think the Cessna 210 is still there and flown by the crop duster Bill.
I figure someone will come up with a fix for ADS-B. Look a couple of years ago you could spend $600 on a ADS-B in box, the other day my neighbor bought a kit and put it together in 7 minutes flat. It was $69 plus shipping and it gives him Tis-B and weather radar and weather on his Ipad with one of the mapping programs, and is wireless. If Amazon gets it’s way there will be thousands of drones flying around that will be ADS-B capable and when they start making IC chips with ADS-B in them someone will rig one up so that it will do ADS-B in and out. I’m mostly into Experimental and none electric airplanes (1941 Cub) so for me those will be able to fly inside the B and C airspace.
I think the reason the FAA is pushing for total compliance by 2020 is so they can test the system and make sure it actually works. I flew for several airline in the past and the FAA put in Microwave landing systems and so one of the companies installed it in there airplanes so they could get better access to JFK, sure enough when everybody didn’t buy the equipment the FAA shut it down. It was a waste of money for that airline, great system much better than the ILS system we have now (didn’t go flat toward the end). The airlines are not ready for ADS-B, and have already been asking the FAA for a wavier to the install date, which of course they will get.
I flew airplanes with ADS-B over the Atlantic and Pacific and it is nice that the controllers actually know where you are at all times, but that is done with a Sat link not with all the towers of the system that was put in around the USA, it will cost money to maintain the system and when something breaks it may leave holes (might be why we will still have to have a transponder). What they save shutting down the old ADF/VOR’s I hope they spend on keeping the ADS-B system going, and god help us if WAAS goes out or a couple of GPS Sats go out, all of our eggs are really going to be in one basket.
GA has been a rich man’s game for most of its hx, but it had avenues for the not so rich to enjoy as well. We have allowed the infrastructure to erode to the point, that those avenues in most areas no longer exist and only the rich are able to carry on. The coffin is almost ready, ADS-B and the elimination of 100LL, will go along way towards finishing it.
The only thing allowing me to keep flying is that some people are still willing to pay me to fly their airplanes or instruct for them, even that is rapidly decreasing.
Wont be long before the only airplanes you boy can afford are MINE !
bcair.com
Keep in mind that as long as you don’t fly n the A,B or C airspace you do not need to have ADS-B. Or if you fly a non- Electric (7AC, Piper cub) it’s not necessary to be ADS-B equipment.
All airplanes are nice, even more so when we can only afford to look at them anymore instead of flying them.
I agree, aviation has become a rich man’s game. After retirement from engineering my patience ended, so I purchased my first depreciated and only airplane. However, my expectations toward expenses are not as hopeful. Unless FAA/government’s GA requirements consider actual small aircraft owners, the ‘Open Profit-Hand’ of the ADSB business community will Price Equipment to their advantage.
An Ipad solution or’ Heath Kit’ solution (showing my age) without rewiring the aircraft is our only hope. I hope your patient view materializes.
I lov the Swift, almost bought one, still kicking myself for not doing so. It was a real beauty…N628H..
too. bad they keep removing all the old approaches down to 5000 now from 8000
there r 12000 rnav that often r not as good
like u our mooney had all the old stuff still working. but we r being cut out of our airports
got an avidyne 540 but 20k in and still no joy on adsb in maybe w next update
That looks like a nice Swift!
All Swifts are nice