Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, is the last day general aviation pilots can reserve their $500 rebates to install ADS-B.
Starting Jan. 1, 2020, airplanes must be equipped with ADS-B Out to fly in most controlled airspace.
For the past year, the FAA has offered the rebate as an incentive to get GA aircraft owners to equip before the Sept. 18, 2017, deadline.
Although the last day to make a reservation is Sept. 18, eligible aircraft owners who make a reservation by the deadline will still have time to complete the remaining steps in the process to receive the rebate check.
Aircraft eligible for the rebate are U.S.-registered, fixed-wing, single-engine piston aircraft whose operation requires an onboard pilot, first registered before Jan 1, 2016.
Eligible equipment
Avionics that are certified to FAA Technical Standard Orders and meet the program rules (software upgrades of existing equipment are not eligible).
Rebates are not available for aircraft already equipped with rule compliant ADS-B or for aircraft the FAA has previously paid or committed to pay for upgrades to meet the ADS-B mandate.
Where to Fly
To receive the rebate, eligible sircraft must be flown in rule airspace, which is the airspace defined in 14 CFR §91.225 for at least 30 minutes, with at least 10 aggregate minutes of maneuvering flight.
Exception: In Alaska, Guam, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, flight of an eligible aircraft above 10,000 feet MSL and within FAA ADS-B coverage will qualify as meeting the airspace requirements for the rebate program.
Find out more here.
$500 is a pittance of a rebate compared to the cost of the equipment, especially when the government cuts a 1099 on that $500, leaving you approximately $350. Equipment plus installation costs breaking $5000 for most basic installs isn’t something that this “rebate” is going to do much for. In a lot of cases, it’ll be cheaper to move the airplane out of ADS space for parking. Yea, Yea, ADS-B is wonderful, it’ll make the skies safer, blah blah, blah. I’ve heard the praises. But, in a $20k airplane, is that really a doable investment for that function? Even if we don’t go to Privatization in the Air Traffic world, these regs and equipment requirements are slowly chipping away at GA folks’ capability to continue to keep the aviation industry growing out of the hole it ended up in. Me, I can avoid class airspace for everything I do, or need. But, when the FAA realizes most of the GA fleet didn’t comply because they didn’t need to, they will change the regs to where you have to have it to even take off, no matter where you are. You watch!
FAA, you want more compliance, bump that rebate up to $1500 or $2000, and no 1099! That’ll get peoples attention!