ADS-B: Going, going…

Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast uses GPS satellites instead of ground-based radar to determine aircraft location, and is a key technology behind the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System. The FAA has mandated ADS-B Out equipage after January 1, 2020, for flight in airspace where a transponder is required today.

Claiming a rebate is a five-step process (see “ADS-B: Navigating the FAA Rebate,” December 2016 AOPA Pilot), and September 18, 2017, is the last day to do so. Go to the FAA’s rebate website, select the equipment you wish to purchase, and schedule its installation. Second, reserve your rebate online and obtain a rebate reservation code. Third, have the equipment installed. Fourth, fly according to the rebate program rules to validate equipment performance and receive an incentive code. Finally, go online and use your rebate reservation code and incentive code to claim the rebate.

When you reserve a rebate, you must provide a scheduled installation date that can be no more than 90 days away (hint: reserve the latest date possible). If you haven’t already scheduled an installation, be aware that some shops are scheduled six months (or longer) into the future—but others are not. When the scheduled installation date arrives, a second, 60-day clock begins ticking for installation of the equipment and successful completion of the required performance validation flight. So if you reserve a rebate on September 18, selecting an installation date at the maximum 90 days out, you actually have 150 days—until February 15, 2018—to pass the validation flight and claim your rebate.

Rebate rules require a validation flight of at least 30 minutes in FAR 91.225 rule airspace—generally above 10,000 feet, in or above Class C airspace, or within the 30-nautical-mile Mode C veil around a Class B airport. Landing at a Class B or Class C airport is not required. Ten aggregate minutes of maneuvering flight is needed, but a couple 360-degree turns—when combined with normal climbs, descents, and the traffic pattern—will fulfill the requirement.

So, why is the program winding down with money left on the table? The validation flight might have been the biggest challenge. For many pilots, it could consume the value of the $500 rebate.After completing the flight, go back to the FAA rebate site and request a Public ADS-B Performance Report (PAPR); if your aircraft passes, you’ll also receive a GA Incentive Requirement Status (GAIRS) report that includes your incentive code. To complete the rebate process, within 60 days of the installation date you scheduled in the FAA system, log into the FAA website and enter both your rebate reservation code and your incentive code.

The rebate program, announced on June 6, 2016, is open to owners of single-engine, piston-powered airplanes who install TSOed ADS-B Out equipment. So, why is the program winding down with money left on the table?

“The rebate program was designed to help pilots and draw attention to the rule,” said Rune Duke, AOPA’s director of airspace and air traffic. “However, the program had technical and operational limitations that discouraged pilots from applying.”

First, he said, the rebate amount was too small. “The cost to comply, with the validation flights, negates some of the benefits of participation—we’ve had a lot of complaints about that,” Duke said. Some aircraft owners were penalized by technical issues, he added, and the fact that the rebate was taxable discouraged others.

But the validation flight might have been the biggest challenge. “The requirement that validation flights need to be made in rule airspace has been a sticking point. For many pilots, flying into rule airspace is a hardship, and can consume the value of the $500 rebate,” he said.

The rebate did a great job of increasing general aviation pilots’ awareness of the ADS-B mandate, Duke added. “It initiated a lot more conversations around ADS-B, which we think was very important as we approach the mandate.”

And validation flights appear to have become easier to accomplish. Steve Bateman installed ADS-B equipment in his Cessna 152 Aerobat and completed his validation flight from Hebron (Nebraska) Municipal Airport in March 2017, before joining AOPA as director of the flying club initiative. “We’re in the middle of not very much, and 10,000 feet is very high to climb in that airplane,” Bateman explained. So he combined his validation flight with a planned trip to a meeting in the state capital, Lincoln.

Bateman requested an altitude block, and air traffic control gave him visual landmarks. “They were quite curious. I must have been one of the first [validation flights] in that area,” he said. “I basically stayed on the edge of the Class Charlie airspace.” Later, he helped a friend complete the same procedure in his Piper Cherokee.

After receiving several similar requests the Houston Tracon took a proactive approach, and in May 2017 published a letter to airmen with recommended procedures for ADS-B rebate flights in Houston terminal airspace. “To assist area pilots in completing successful verification flights, we have attached two flight path suggestions in the northern and southern areas of our airspace,” the letter says. “These tracks would keep aircraft within ADS-B rule airspace and may be conducted VFR or IFR.”

Should you still consider seeking an FAA rebate? If you’re going to equip and can complete the installation within that 150-day window—go for it. It’s (mostly) free money. And rebate recipients are universally surprised by how quickly they receive a check. “Less than a week later, the money was in the bank,” Bateman said.

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