About the time this issue hits your mailbox, the industry will mark one year before the FAA will require ADS-B Out equipment to operate in airspace where a Mode C transponder is required today. The January 1, 2020, deadline was set in 2010, and it’s been fascinating to watch commercial, corporate, business and personal aircraft operators wrestle with the evolving market choices.
Over the 10 years since the ADS-B rule was made final, the typical cost of installing complying equipment—if you could even find any at first—has gone from roughly 10 AMUs (aviation maintenance unit, currently $1000) for certified personal aircraft to slightly more than one. Along the way, capabilities have improved, with cockpit connectivity and built-in display of ADS-B In’s traffic and weather information often driving both the decision to equip and the products installed.
