ADS-B Rebate Program Sees Dwindling Interest

In a report released earlier this month, the FAA documents a much slower than expected response to its general aviation ADS-B rebate program.

Of the 20,000 rebates available, the FAA says it has processed 5,008 reservations for the rebate, with 14,910 rebates remaining to be claimed by the September 18 deadline. That’s less than half of the FAA’s projected goal of 12,000 reservations by April.

The program offers a $500 rebate to help GA pilots equip their airplanes with the avionics that will be required starting January 1, 2020. Allowing 90 days to complete the rebate process, the program is broken down into five steps: select your equipment and schedule installation, reserve your rebate, install your ADS-B equipment, fly and validate, then file your rebate claim.

The FAA’s report notes that there are currently 3,707 participants in the “fly and validate phase” and 3,620 applicants have filed a claim, while 1,064 reservations have expired with no further action. Unless all rebates have been claimed before the cutoff, the last day to reserve a rebate is September 18, 2017.