Safety Spotlight: I was blind, but now I see

Why? Before anyone rushes to blame the FAA, it’s important to understand that the decisions for how ADS-B would work were made long before the iPad or low-cost portable ADS-B receivers were invented. At the time, it was difficult to foresee the potential benefits of setting up the system differently. As we know now, with portable receivers and tablet displays come the ability to display TIS-B traffic information—basically, aircraft positions as determined by ATC radar, supplementing ADS-B data—in the cockpit at a low cost. But this happens only sometimes, and therein lies the rub.

To get the complete traffic picture, pilots have to fly with an FAR 91.227-compliant system with both ADS-B Out and In. But what about pilots with only portable ADS-B receivers? They might not realize that even though portable receivers such as the Appareo Stratus and Garmin GDL 39 can display traffic information, they often don’t. Ground stations require an airplane with an active ADS-B Out system to trigger the broadcast of TIS-B data—and then, the data includes only traffic within that aircraft’s “hockey puck” of airspace. If an aircraft with a portable receiver were close enough, it could piggyback on this signal and receive some traffic information.

This caused a lot of confusion, because pilots flying with a portable system near an ADS-B Out-equipped aircraft would see traffic information—but as soon as the ADS-B-equipped airplane was out of range, the TIS-B broadcast would stop and the traffic information would disappear. Worse yet, there was no way of knowing whether the traffic picture was complete. Adding to the confusion were marketing materials for portable ADS-B receivers touting “free traffic and weather information.” That’s true, but the devil’s in the details.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more confusing, TIS-B traffic information was never designed to be a permanent part of the ADS-B system. It was intended to be an interim traffic tool that will go away sometime after 2020. The thought was that TIS-B traffic information would no longer be needed, because everyone would have equipped with rule-compliant ADS-B—and the ADS-B traffic information would be all that’s needed for aircraft to see one another.

Assuming that the vast majority of the general aviation fleet would equip before 2020 was overly optimistic. Based on the FAA’s data, it is clear that ADS-B installations are lagging behind what was originally envisioned. Extrapolating from the latest installation rates, we can expect approximately 60,000 to 80,000 GA ADS-B installations by the 2020 deadline, out of a fleet of more than 200,000 aircraft. This is not a good-news story for the FAA—or GA, for that matter.

Many aircraft owners might be waiting for the prices to come down or for the deadline to get closer before having ADS-B installed. There’s a problem here, too. There just aren’t that many avionics shops that can perform this work. At the time this was written, most avionics shops already had a backlog of three to six months. Those who choose to procrastinate will likely find long lines to schedule their installation. And once the 2020 deadline passes, anyone without a compliant ADS-B Out system installed will be unable to fly in ADS-B rule airspace.

See and avoid is an imperfect system, and ADS-B-based weather and traffic awareness information are great tools. AOPA has been working with the FAA to change the current system and make TIS-B traffic information available to all airplanes, even those with portable receivers. But it’s a slow process, and there’s no guarantee it will happen. If you’re on the fence waiting for the right time, that time is now. AOPA strongly encourages you to equip with an appropriate ADS-B Out and In solution. Installing ADS-B well ahead of the deadline will give you all the safety benefits of in-cockpit weather and traffic information, and being 2020 compliant so that you can fly in rule airspace after the deadline passes. For more information, visit AOPA’s ADS-B resource page (www.aopa.org/adsb).