Originally published at: Ted Cruz ADS-B Bill Moves to a Vote
ROTOR Act would expand cockpit surveillance requirements under the Cruz ADS-B proposal.
I for one don’t think that it should have ever been a choice. Either get on board or stay home. There’s enough crashes in aviation out there, without having to factor in ones cheapskate tendencies.
Be extra vigilant Karrpilot in seeing and avoiding in the future. Anyone who publicly presents themselves as Mr. Perfect in aviation as you have just inferred with your smartass comment will be challenged by fate accordingly somewhere down the line. You’ve invited it.
I never said that I was perfect. I know of many pilots out there that don’t want to buy the adsb in portion of their transponders, because they indeed are cheap. Those very same pilots didn’t want to upgrade or update anything in their aircraft, because they wanted to keep them so-called all original and vintage.
Until I start seeing what was sold to the aviation industry, the benefits of ADS-B out, I don’t support any requirement for ADS-B in. ADS-B in does not have the same FAR mandate that TCAS has, therefore any ADS-B in depiction would be advisory only, just like TCAS TA’s. Aircraft on an IFR clearance would not have authorization or a mandate to change course or altitude based solely on an ADS-B in depiction. My next question is how any ADS-B in requirement would be enforced? Since ADS-B is a receiver, unlike ADS-B out, no FAA services are currently given based on any ADS-B in receiver. Remember not all airspace requires any ADS-B equipment at all.
The bill should include a provision that prohibits use of tracking data by third parties for the purpose of profiteering or fees via “air tolls”, which has gotten out of hand.
In my 4 seat airplane all of us will receive a runway final approach audio alert when another airplane is within 2 nautical miles or 1 minute of the runway threshold, whichever is less when I’m taxiing approaching the runway or on the runway for takeoff or an audio alert if another airplane is on the runway that i am approaching for landing plus other traffic in flight from my iPad’s ForeFlight that is bluetooth to my audio panel then to all 4 headsets for the “relatively low cost” of a portable ADS-B In, an iPad, a ForeFlight subscription & an audio panel with bluetooth!!
Was it really necessary to show that giant picture of Ted Cruz? Some of us read your emails during mealtimes.
All this does is open the floodgates for another certified piece of equipment to nickel and dime us to death and make general aviation further out of reach.
Do you honestly think the FAA is going to let us use whatever we want as an adsb in solution? I think not. We are all well aware that it’s going to have to be another tso piece of gear.
Knowing politics, I’m sure he has some firm that will benefit generously from such a thing. Time to look for what stock he is buying!
What is the best source of hard data of mid-air collisions regarding equipment on board? Has a single piece of that data been presented as part of this bill? Is it even possible to track that given the nature of adsb in technology ranging from stratux to the fanciest of flight decks?
Many air traffic control towers throughout the country do not even have RADAR. Why doesn’t the government install systems in those towers so they can see the ADS-B??? No use in forcing everyone to have it if the FAA and contract towers can’t see it.
This is another example of “this magic device is going to save us all so everybody has to get one”. It isn’t and it won’t. ADS-B is actually a mess that is sometimes useful but not always. Putting all your chips on it to prevent collisions is not smart.
I’m afraid ADS-B is already out of date,
for modern systems. And will need major updates to create a safer airspace. It is barely enough. Aviation future looks more promising then ever for safe operations in the sky. I believe that some system will be mandatory and most systems should be voluntary. With limitations of type of flying one can do with time and fuel burn easily paying for most of these systems in corporate aviation. A no brainer as it were and general aviation will fly at a reasonable deluted services until upgraded. The charts will become dynamic according to equipment you fly .
This approach is just wrong and a red herring because: the military has “military operation areas” (MOAs) and should never have training exercise in class: B; C; or D airspace. ADS B is a political tool of the FAA and needs to go away because GPS covers this necessity when in service. The military needs to agree to joint use of GPS so GPS is not shut down temporarily or arbitrarily. How could Senator Cruz become so confused? Senator Cruz’s information is substantially erroneous. Talking to non pilots I presume! Senator Cruz needs to talk to pilot senators or representatives to understand the actual situation. Senator Cruz is creating an undue burden on pilots; which he should not be and would not be if fully understood what is going on! The military let is down this time and needs to be held accountable. Not pilots and their aircraft. AOPA, EAA, and GAMA need to explain this situation to Senator Cruz. His idea is dead before arrival; if he gets the actual facts. So no vote on the Senator Cruz version and get the facts to Senator Cruz as presented here! Costing small aircraft more funds for more unneeded gadgets is very unRepublican!
Concur with FastForward. The aviation community was promised that ADSB would not be used to determine location for fees in exchange for cooperation. This new proposal needs to provide enforcement - with deterring penalties - for those who are already violating that promise.
It sounds like you are not a pilot and don’t fully understand what ADS-B is and does.
All US registered aircraft have ADS-B OUT in order to fly in controlled airspace.
ADS-B IN simply gives the pilot a display that shows the position of other aircraft.
In the Washington National collision it would have made zero difference because the commercial aircraft on short final had a pilot flying who was focused on the runway and would not have been able to watch the runway and an ADS-B IN screen at the same time. The distraction of such a display would easily draw the attention of a pilot away from flying the plane.
The Washington National collision should never have happened since it was lunacy to be funneling helicopters closely under final approach to an airport. Forget about complaints of one controller in the tower … the failure was the helicopter, and it should never have been routed through there in the first place.
As for the cost – there are 220,000 general aviation aircraft in the USA. Assume $10,000 for a simple “IN” display. An Avidyne IFD550 GPS (which has ADS-B IN and OUT) is $25,000 plus tax and installation – you do the math, for an item which really is no more than a toy.
If this actually gets enacted then once again general aviation will end up paying for something due to an event (9/11 was the last one) general aviation had nothing to do with! Remember with all the restrictions enacted around DCA airspace has had the effect of banning all non-government general aviation airplanes from what is now the SFRA!
The S in ADSB was NEVER for safety.
This would NOT have prevented the DC crash
More people need to be eyes OUTSIDE, not relying the screens
This is just going to result in more automated fees and silly ADSB enforcements like that poor floatplane CFI landing on the huge community used river
ADS-B is a pig in a poke. Study the history and hype, and you will find it was retaliation to failed attempts to impose user fees. So much so that you never hear about user fees anymore. It is based on the European model that sends you a bill upon controllers receiving your “I’m Airborne” signal. Now it’s being justified based on drones usage of the airspace as well, with an eventual windfall in fees. The American public will see the eventual total destruction of general aviation, it is already in motion here. As for the rest of the world, it’s already solidified. Write Ted Cruze and tell him he is falling into yet another trap rife with “unintended consequences.” That is to say, on his part. As for those bent on the destruction of the singular freedoms and liberties of this country, it is INTENDED and well under way. Kill the Bill now and revoke MANDATORY from ABS-B. The DC crash was fully caused and controlled by the FAA. They failed the system they imposed and they should be held fully investigated by real professionals not politicians, and completely responsible for the failure. No more blaming GA. No more excuses. Don’t give them another milestone accomplishment in our destruction.
I’d dare a guess and state that the “American public” gives no two turds about the continuance or demise of rich people’s toys or GA being taken away or taxed out of existence.
A whole lot of peeps have severe issues keeping food on the table and filling their gas-tanks or maintaining health-insurance for a family.
Political incompetence (standard on both sides of the isle) has consequences. General Aviation has never and will never have any meaning to the clowns in Washington.
Mandatory ADS-B IN might have helped in the DC crash situation. As I understand it, the helicopter pilot didn’t have any working equipment on board that would have detected the passenger jet and was confused about which aircraft the controller was warning them about. ADS-B IN with an audible warning enabled probably would have picked up both aircraft and given the pilots an opportunity to perform an evasive maneuver. There’s no question that the helicopter shouldn’t have been there and that helicopter flight routes shouldn’t be anywhere near passenger jet routes. I have had ADS-B OUT/IN and Foreflight on an iPad with audible warnings enabled in my airplane for quite a while. ADS-B IN isn’t perfect and sometimes I get false proximity alerts from my own airplane but it does enable me to detect nearby aircraft and direct my scan to them. Nearby light aircraft can be hard to see depending on the background. The bottom line is that a pilot needs all the help that they can get to avoid other aircraft and ADS-B is a decent technology that does that. It’s being misused by some airports to charge landing fees. TCAS is a good technology too but it’s not widespread and it’s more expensive than an ADS-B IN receiver. I think the FAA made a mistake in using ADS-B ground stations rather than satellites since a direct line-of-sight is needed between the aircraft and the ground station. That doesn’t work too well in the mountains where I live. However, ADS-B IN will detect ADS-B OUT signals emitted by nearby aircraft without a ground station. Not all aircraft are equipped with ADS-B OUT so pilots still need a good scan to see-and-avoid other aircraft, especially in proximity to an airport where air traffic density is normally higher.