President's Perspective

I flew to Anchorage, Alaska, to attend the annual Alaska State Aviation Trade Show and Conference. It was my first opportunity to fly myself into this remarkable state, and the scenery was breathtaking.

At the conference, I toured the exhibit floor and saw some of the great innovations being developed in the state. I even had the chance to fly a Piper Super Cub simulator used to teach safety skills in Alaska's tough terrain and weather. It was my first time in a tailwheel airplane, and I had to land on a 700-foot runway in hail and snow--all while looking through a cracked windshield. I made it, but I was certainly glad the whole event was simulated.

I also spoke to an audience of aviators from all over the state, and from all segments of aviation--everything from the airlines to tour operators and recreational pilots to cargo carriers. They welcomed me warmly and were enthusiastic about AOPA's General Aviation Serves America program to educate the public and policy makers about the true nature of general aviation.

No one knows better than Alaskans the many economic and social benefits of general aviation. In some parts of the state, GA is literally the only way to get people and goods from place to place, and other communities are heavily dependent on GA to bring in tourists who enjoy the scenery, wildlife, and outdoor activities unique to Alaska's amazing wilderness.

Pilots in Alaska also face some of the most challenging flight conditions anywhere, so improving safety is critically important in this state. And it was in that context that I got to peer into what could be the future for general aviation. But in Alaska the future is now.

In large areas of Alaska, airplanes can tell air traffic controllers and other airplanes exactly where they are. Controllers and pilots can see this information, updated every second, on screens in front of them. You don't have to guess the altitude of that distant speck and wonder if it poses a potential conflict--you know.

With such frequent position updates and GPS accuracy, controllers can better manage traffic, reducing congestion and separation in busy airspace.

Pilots flying in the VFR environment have an added valuable situational awareness tool and they can get real-time weather in the cockpit. With a GPS database, pilots also have terrain information to help avoid surprises at night or in low weather.

Because controllers have a far better sense of where each aircraft is, including its altitude and its flight path, search-and-rescue operations are improved. If an aircraft stops transmitting, ATC can tell rescuers exactly where it was at the time of the last transmission, significantly narrowing the search area. This capability has already saved downed pilots in Alaska.

And because pilots are no longer tied to radar, a broader network of smaller and less costly ground stations expands ATC services to new areas.

In Alaska all of this has been made possible thanks to federal investment in avionics and infrastructure through the Capstone program. That program made Alaska a test bed for ADS-B (automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast) technology.

At a dinner arranged by AOPA Regional Representative for Alaska Tom George, I spoke to aviation leaders about the importance of modernizing our air traffic control system--a concept commonly referred to as NextGen. They shared with me their insights, generated by years of actually flying with ADS-B. Everyone agreed the technology, as it has been implemented in Alaska, has proven a tremendous boon to safety.

Back in Washington, D.C., the debate continues over the relative merits of ADS-B. In Alaska, they know how effective it can be because they use it every day. And while the Washington crowd agonizes over the challenges of integrating this relatively new technology into the air traffic control system, controllers in Alaska have been looking at integrated displays with ADS-B information since 2001 and the equipment has been in some aircraft since 2000.

AOPA has been an active participant in ADS-B development and testing, even installing the equipment in AOPA aircraft and taking Washington decision makers on flights to demonstrate exactly how it works. And we continue to push for implementation that will maximize the benefits and minimize the cost for GA pilots, including possible subsidies for equipping GA aircraft.

If ADS-B as it is being used in Alaska is the future for all general aviation, then the future is exciting indeed. The technology is available and it works. We've seen it for ourselves. But whether or not that technology lives up to its full potential in the rest of the country depends on how it is implemented. And that remains to be seen.

E-mail AOPA President Craig Fuller at [email protected].