It’s a lot like the early days of the Volkswagen. In the late ’50s when you drove a VW Beetle and you saw another one on the road, you tooted, flashed your lights and waved. There just weren’t that many on the highways so a sighting was an occurrence. Today, when I’m flying and I see an ADS-B target on my GMX 200 display, I want to wave and toot. There just aren’t that many of us on the airways, so the sighting is an occurrence.
What’s ratcheted up the current interest in ADS-B is the FAA’s announcement that ADS-B will be the cornerstone of the NexGen (next generation) air traffic control system (described as “aircraft-centric”) and its Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) mandating that by 2020 all airplanes operating in Class A, B and C airspace over the 48 contiguous states, and in Class E airspace above 10,000-feet msl, will be required to be equipped with ADS-B-Out. The rule would also require airplanes flying within 30 nm of FAA specified “busy” airports to be ADS-B-Out equipped. (More about the “Out” in ADS-B-Out later.)
