Ryan's latest and by far most sophisticated traffic alerting system, the TCAD 9900BX, has gotten certification from the FAA. The 9900BX is an active system, which means it interrogates other aircraft's transponders, determines their position and then issues a warning if a potential conflict is predicted. Using both bottom and top antennas, the 9900BX can simultaneously track up to 50 aircraft (it looks out 20 miles) and provides a maximum 30 second warning even with a worst case scenario 1,200 knot closure rate.
One welcome feature of the 9900BX is what Ryan calls Audible Position Alerting. When the system detects a threat, it gives the pilot an audible warning, such as "Traffic! Twelve o'clock high! Two miles!" The audible alerting system is the only one of its kind, says Ryan. It's designed to get the pilots looking outside the airplane for traffic, instead of at the display for it.
Some other existing Ryan traffic alerting systems, specifically the ATS-9000 and all 9900 series systems, can be updated at additional cost to the features of the 9900BX. The price of the 9900BX, which is available now, is $20,200 with the display, $19,200 without. For more information, call 800/877-0048, 614/885-3303 or visit www.ryan-tcad.com.
