As of Sept, 1, 2017, rule-compliant Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipment is now on board more than 40,000 aircraft flying in the United States.
The FAA estimates that 100,000 to 160,000 general aviation aircraft will need to be equipped with ADS-B Out before the Jan. 1, 2020, mandate. The FAA is also offering a $500 rebate to offset an owner’s cost on an eligible aircraft until midnight Sept. 18, 2017.
“We’re now just over two years out from the FAA compliance deadline,” said General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) President and CEO Pete Bunce. “As we move forward, knowing that date will not change, it is essential that those operators who haven’t yet make a plan for equipage to avoid having their aircraft grounded and losing its residual value.”
Since the FAA announced the mandate, general aviation manufacturers have worked hard to design, develop, certify and make available ADS-B products that enhance safety at a reasonable cost, GAMA officials said.
Some solutions for light general aviation aircraft are available for a range from $1,200 to $4,000, each providing safety benefits when presented on an ADS-B IN capable display.
“By choosing to equip now, operators are investing in their safety and ensuring they meet the 2020 deadline before installation lines grow long,” added Bunce. “We are very pleased with the continuous growth in equipage, and manufacturers will continue working with the FAA and operators to facilitate equipage as the deadline approaches.”
How about heads up open your f in eyes problem solved .
So far every single mid air collision has been equipped with 2 (f not 4 F ing eyes) looking out the window.
But pilots can’t see the airplanes below them climbing, above them descending etc.
So that doesn’t seem to be working so well.
Besides this is not about traffic avoidance. It’s about the FAA knowing who you are, where and when you left, where and when you landed, and where you went , how fast and how high, and most importantly where to send the bill for the services they provided you.
Pay attention.
A while back Scientific American published and article of how incredibly easy it would be for a terrorist to jam or spoof ADS-B due to the very low power GPS signals involved which can easily be overridden by even a handheld device. Ground based NAV such as VOR’s have a lot more power at their disposal.
I wonder what might happen should our present NAV system be dismantled. ADF anyone?
@Dj. None of that inferred price includes the real cost of installation, which is usually thousand’s more, and that’s even for a “band-aid” Rube Goldberg installation, that will never suffice for real and cost effective NextGen evolution. UAT taken with ADS-R is virtually useless junk in the longer term schema of addressing real airspace and ATS reform needs that are needed for affordable for GA. Countries all around the world know that and think that FAA is nuts in the ADS-B direction it’s taking. Finally, the first time that you whack a drone (which in the coming decades will be ubiquitous), even with a homebuilt amateur aircraft, or get ingested into a GE90-115B because of an ADS-R failure, or get run down by a 350 kt Growler, Hornet, or Viper at 500′ AGL,… you’ll perhaps better understand. NO UAT based ADS-B system is anything more than an interim “band-aid”, and an utter waste of money due to installation costs and vulnerability, even if the unit itself was given away for free.
… and yet it seems to be working quite well for many of us.
Really not sure why the continued rant on a comments section of a website. If you have that many concerns about it, contact the people that can do something about it. Pretty sure they aren’t going to be found here. 🙂
In the meantime, I and others will continue to use the many benefits that we’ve found with the current system. If it ends up changing, so be it. Life is full of change.
@Dj,… the reason for this continued “comment section” dialog is that the mainstream of small aircraft operators in GA need to much better understand the serious threat to our GA future, from not only this seriously faulty ADS-B policy, but also FAA’s general inappropriate policies across a broad front. In turn, it is hoped that participants in this fora can help turn around both AOPA and EAA (NBAA appears to be a lost cause). That’s the only way low end GA can truly be an effective force for change at FAA, which at present is doing great harm to all of GA, and also to other airspace users, while not coming close to fixing NextGen, or reducing the fully allocated costs of a massively obsolete and dysfunctional ATS system. We (e.g., the participants in these fora) typically hope to enlist the support of those who are apparently unaware of the real threats to GA, as GA aircraft and operations become unnecessarily and outrageously expensive, and additionally impractical, and increasingly restricted. Q.E.D.
… and yet the system still seems to be working fine for many of us (I’d even say most of us). If it wasn’t, we’d be hearing 40,000+ pilots complaining about it.
So far, not a single person I’ve taken up in my airplane has looked at the ADS-B system and said, “That’s a horrible implementation and I really hate having all that real-time updated information available to me in flight”. Quite the opposite actually, with the typical reaction being more like, “Wow! I have to get that in my plane!”.
I will agree that aviation is ridiculously expensive overall, but the blame doesn’t seem to be related to ADS-B as far as I can see. A Trig TT22 transponder which satisfies ADS-B 1090 Out is about the same price as a traditional transponder. From my perspective, it is the lawyers that have made it so expensive by suing everyone and anything even remotely related to an accident aircraft, and the corresponding increases in liability, insurance rates, etc. It simply should not cost upwards of $300k to buy a new factory produced aircraft. Normal people simply can’t afford it, and it is hard to attract young folks with a ratty 50 year old aircraft with steam gauges.
@Dj. Your attempt at reasoned dialog is most appreciated, but your analysis and conclusions are substantially faulty if not completely incorrect. 40,000 people didn’t complain about telephone booths either, …before the cellphone. Or complain about the slide rule …before the HP hand calculator or PC. Or complain about riding on an IDL (now JFK) to LAX flight and its air fare, or flight time, in a Connie or DC7, …but who would want to go back to paying the 2017 equivalent of $20,000 to spend 4 times as long, flying through TRW lines at FL140. For GA, the typical GA pilot has no idea what the outrageously high “fully allocated cost” presently is for a simple VFR local flight in the US NAS, let alone an IFR flight in a C172. Or the massive growth of completely unnecessary TFRs. Or getting a clearance to “Stay Clear of Class B or Class C” forcing flight down low in bad WX over mountains or extended water. Or the risk of getting run down by a Viper as happened at KCHS, which your version of ADS-B WILL NOT EVER SOLVE. Sir, it is time to wake up, or GA will continue in its graveyard spiral, and it ISN’T primarily due to lawyers or insurance. Our ATS is very broken right now, and is massively obsolete, and under performing, with a heavily taxpayer subsidized ridiculously over expensive “cost-per-unit-separation-service” that soon will absolutely crush GA, if we don’t soon change course. FAA’s absurd present convolution of the once fundamentally useful ADS-B concept (e.g., UAT and ADS-R) are but a few more nails in our eventual GA coffin. Please sir, take note, and understand the true fatal storm ahead for GA if we don’t look more carefully at our future, and respond accordingly.
Respectfully, it is not “my” version of ADS-B. My claims have been, and continue to be, that it seems to work well for me, and in my opinion is far better than what came before, much the same as your example of cell phones that have replaced phone booths. No doubt in the future something will replace it, much the same as something will replace cell phones. However, for what it is today, ADS-B seems to work well.
I stand by my comment that if it were so horrible, we would be hearing lots of complaints from the 40,000 aircraft owners that are currently flying with it.
Your insistence on essentially complaining that the replacement for cell phones hasn’t arrived yet is puzzling to say the least. It will be here in due time, no doubt. Until then, we can enjoy the benefits that the current form of ADS-B has to offer.
I think ADSb is all about them knowing where to automatically send the bill for your take off and landing and the time you spend in the air.
I don’t think that uavionics or navworx has one that is legal for a certified aircraft.
(Legal today but not legal after the 2020 mandate.)
Navworx claims their ADS600-B for $2020 is legal for certified aircraft, now and after the year 2020.
The uAvionix system for $999 is only for light sport and experimental aircraft, but is legal now and after 2020 as well.
More info on their respective websites (I have no relation with either company, and do not own any of their products).
This ADS-B is all about Government Bulls**t. It has nothing to do with safety – It’s all about the government wanting to know everything we do and control everything we do. How the hell many mid-air accidents have you heard of because the planes couldn’t be recognized? Of course the manufacturers sing the praises every time the FAA comes up with another cockamamie idea to spend pilot’s money. It’s just a big con job that will further kill general aviation.
As someone who has been using a full ADS-B In/Out system in my aircraft for a couple of years now, I think it is one of the best upgrades I’ve ever done to my aircraft. In-flight weather, traffic, NOTAMS, TFRs, etc are simply AWESOME! My total cost, installed, was under $3000, and that was more than two years ago. Today, it can be done for about half that with Navworx or uavionix gear, and likely others as well.
The UAT option allows for an anonymous mode, similar to the 1200 mode on a standard transponder, for those concerned about “tracking”.
@Dj. The same WX and NOTAMS (Note: in still an utterly obsolete and lousy FAA format), and vastly BETTER nearby traffic information,… could be had for between 1/2 and 1/10 the cost,… if ADS-A, ADS-B, and ADS-C were designed properly, and implemented as part of the balanced C-N-S triad, even for low end GA, as originally intended. Further, ADS-B can be had for nearly zero incremental cost,.. if you are already wasting $300K plus on a some new or recent airplane purchase, …so your statement about ADS-B being “economic” and “cost effective”, is irrelevant and nearly worthless, unless the specifics are provided. For example, for my small ASEL a sensible decent installation was going to be well over $10K. So you’re dreaming to assert it could be typical to do it for $3K or less. Worse, that kind of a nearly useless UAT ADS-B installation will be nothing but throwaway junk for any future ATS system that actually works, at reasonable cost for GA (or for anyone). Finally, UAT and ADS_R are both an abomination, that should have never been invented, or allowed. Just as countries all around the world already know, and are completely disowning them.
ManyDecadesGA, please illustrate exactly where I used the phrases “economic” or “cost effective”. Please don’t put words in my mouth that I didn’t say in an attempt to twist my posts into something they are not in order to support your overtly negative attitude.
Simply put, I said that it works well for me and that I am happy with it. I made no claims as to others’ experiences or installation costs.
From my perspective, it was money well spent and I am getting a lot of value from it.
@Dj. It is very good that you believe you are getting value from the ADS-B unit that you now have. You are correct in noting that I should have perhaps used the words “infer” rather than “stated”. My concern was (and still is) that on balance, others may falsely get the idea from your post that FAA’s version of ADS-B is somehow generally good and worthwhile, and that it is much less expensive than it really is, especially when it is anything but on a useful path to the future, for economically or technically solving NextGen’s critical riddles, for almost anyone else in GA. FAA’s massively overspecified, excessively costly, and dysfunctional version of ADS-B is the wrong answer, addressing the wrong fundamental problems with ATS. Regardless, Good flying!
Correct me but if I am wrong but that must be in an experimental you are flying?
They are still screwing the certified aircraft owners pretty badly.
I am using a Trig TT22 certified transponder which can be legally installed in a certified aircraft. Current cost at Aircraft Spruce is $2k.
The cheapest possible installation that I can see would be the uAvionix $999 system tied to an existing approved GPS source, like a Garmin 430W, in an experimental aircraft where the owner did all of the installation work themselves, plus roughly $200 to have it tested, for a total of $1200. That matches what the article claims, but obviously would not apply to everyone.
For adding ADS-B Out to most certified aircraft, the Navworx is probably the cheapest option at $2020 which includes an approved GPS, plus installation costs and testing. I can see this being possible for under $4000.
I can also see the costs being much higher depending on the shop chosen to install it, and the choice of product.
I think the sentence from the article is true as written, “Some solutions for light general aviation aircraft are available for a range from $1,200 to $4,000”. Note the word “some”.
Totally agree with Pilotman! It’s all about money & control. After Beech 18 & Cessna 404 ownership, I have finally ghrown in the towel I now fly two “fat” ultralights. One was registered with N number when I bought it. First thing I did after I bought it was take my heat gun & remove the N number & cancel the registration. Goodbye to the Future Airmen of America & their incessant bullshit. You goody-goodys out there can continue on & on & on until most of you are driven out..
While ADS-B is fundamentally a good idea (if it were implemented as originally intended, primarily as a very low cost air-air link, when it was originally conceived), …there’s not a prayer that now 100,000 or more US aircraft will ever be equipped with FAA’s faulty version, regardless of 91.225/91.227, and irrespective of FAA’s completely naive assertions. Most small aircraft GA pilots that I know (me included) have no intention whatsoever to spend even a dime on this ridiculous FAA ruined, “over-specified” [excessive NIC and NAC], gold-plated, counterproductive, vulnerable [spoofing, hacking] kluge. Even DoD has no intention of ever equipping all their aircraft. Same with foreign airlines. Same with US airlines that will not meet the 2020 deadline, already having relief to 2024. Same with other countries thumbing their nose at FAA’s massively over-complicated criteria, essentially (unnecessarily) requiring WAAS/SBAS. Worst of all for low end GA, the real costs of installing ADS-B are nowhere near as low as the touted $3000. In my small ASEL bird, I’ve been quoted well over $10,000 for having a sensible integrated installation, and not just a throwaway band-aid installation (that will never work with real “NextGen”, after Nextgen inevitably gets redesigned, after a likely ATS splitout). So my advice is to be really careful in not falling for the NBAA, AOPA, EAA, avionics vendor, and avionics installer shop hype. At this point, FAA’s ADS-B is nothing than a welfare relief act for the avionics companies, and installation shops. It won’t even come anywhere near solving NextGen for the airlines, or anyone.
I learned a long time ago to simply wait when it comes to equipping airplanes as a result of an FAA mandate. (Remember the similar transponder and ELT requirements when they were put into effect?)
Back then, waiting to equip resulted in better competition and thus better prices.
The results of waiting is that more and more manufacturers will produce smaller, lighter, efficient and cheaper units.
I remember that when ADSB was announced, the average cost was going to be $10,000.00 according to some periodicals. Result? As time has gone on the general price for a no frills unit (ADSB Out) is in the $1,000.00 to $1,500.00 range. I intend to assemble one of those (ADSB in) antenna kits for $200.00 and link it to my Foreflight powered iPad to achieve additional economy.
I’m waiting until 2019 as I’m sure the prices will come down further.
As far as being grounded if there is a long waiting list for installation—I don’t care. I don’t run an airline and really don’t NEED an airplane to begin with so if I have to wait in line, so be it. I fly for the sport and enjoyment of it, so waiting if need be is not an issue for me personally. I’ll go boating or do something else to fill the temporary flying gap.
As far as the FAA rebate is concerned, I found the procedures rebate too burdensome and user unfriendly due to required time lines and other details required for submission. A simple copy of the avionics manufacturer’s and the installer’s invoice to the FAA would be so simple, but of course, simplicity is not part of aviation’s world.I know of some pilots who submitted and thought they did everything right only to find they had to resubmit. The procedure was complicated enough that AOPA had to come to the pilots’ assistance by writing specific guidelines to avoid rejection. The hassle was not worth the $500.00 in my view.
The headline reads “More than…”. Given that the US fleet includes over 250,000 aircraft, it should have read “ONLY 40,000 aircraft have equipped with ADSB”. The math is inescapable. To even attain 50% compliance with the looming 2020 Jan 01 mandate for ADSB OUT, nearly 100,000 aircraft must pass through the limited number of avionics shops that (Oh, by the way) are still doing mandated pitot-static checks, avionics maintenance, annual ELT checks, and other tasks necessary to keep the fleet “safe to fly”, in compliance with CIAW, and compliant with other requirements. For example, the FAA just publicized FAA AD 2017-16-01 which essentially requires significant ongoing inspections of Ameri-King ELTs installed in practically all models of aircraft. In the absence of the recurrent inspection aircraft equipped with these devices don’t comply with the FAR… and suddenly are faced with the prospect of installing another device (expensive) or becoming ground bound. My read of the ADSB mandate and most recent progress report is that compliance is WAY, WAY behind the eight ball. The paltry $500 “rebate” for installing systems encouraged some owners to jump in, but not enough to mitigate the thoroughly predictable traffic jam caused by inadequate avionics repair/maintenance/installation capacity.
Pray tell where can you buy the ADS B for $1,400-$4,000? I was quoted $5,600-$6,500, if my Garmin 1000 needs no update, which they think it will.
https://www.uavionix.com/ $999, $1399 if you don’t have a GPS.
http://navworx.com/ $1499, $2020 if you don’t have a GPS.