As the FAA is building out the infrastructure for its nationwide automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast (ADS-B) surveillance network, avionics manufacturers are beginning to market in earnest the gear that will take advantage of the benefits of this new technology. As this happens, it’s becoming apparent that there are greater challenges to ADS-B and greater potential rewards than anyone had imagined when the concept was hatched more than a decade ago.
The year 2020 might seem a long way away to you, and it is, but only kind of. That is, of course, the year that every airplane operating in the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS) is going to have to be ADS-B compliant. Experience with previous mandatory equipage dates, such as that with terrain awareness nearly a decade ago, should tell us that 2020 will come sooner than we’re collectively ready for it to come.
