Aircraft owners can now validate the performance of installed ADS-B Out equipment through a free automated tool provided by the FAA.
“From the FAA perspective, this is a very valuable tool for aircraft owners, operators and avionics shops to verify accurate transmission of their aircraft’s ADS-B data,” said Doug Carr, vice president of regulatory and international affairs with the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). “Without a tool like this one, there is no way to know if the system is performing as expected. There’s no indication in the cockpit, or any other sign of error, if your system isn’t transmitting properly.”
Public ADS-B Performance Reports (PAPR) are available for aircraft operations within FAA ADS-B coverage areas.
To use the tool, aircraft owners simply input some basic information about a particular aircraft, including tail number, ADS-B equipment make/model and flight date.
The FAA then sends the PAPR to the user’s provided email address, typically within 30 minutes. Users should understand that operations close to ground level or near the fringes of ADS-B coverage areas might not yield accurate results. A map of coverage areas is provided.
Carr notes there is no penalty or violation if the PAPR indicates a problem with the ADS-B transmission.
If the report includes an error message, the aircraft owner or operator can use that information to have the problem rectified by their avionics shop.
“All aircraft operators with ADS-B equipment installed in their aircraft should take a few moments to use this tool,” said Carr. “It’s critical that aircraft owners and operators verify the health of their ADS-B equipment and ensure the FAA is receiving accurate data.”