A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/865677
The NATCA Surveillance and Broadcast Services (SBS) team includes: Eric Labardini (ZHU), National SBS Art icle 114 Rep, Craig Bielek (A90), Dan Hamilton (SFO), National Airport Surface Surveillance Capability (ASSC) Rep, Andrew Stachowiak (I90), Tom Zarick (ZDV), National Interval Management Rep, and Chris Aymond (MSY), National Terminal Interval Management Re p . ADS - B: As of August 1, 2017, the number of Rule Compliant ADS - B Out in the U.S. reached 33,827. ADS - B In equipped aircraft reached 29,852. Current equipage levels are falling short of the projected numbers needed to reach the Jan 1, 2020 deadline to equip with ADS - B. Avionics Installation capacity NAS - wide could also be exceeded t he longer users wait to equip. So far, the Agency has been cl ear that the deadline is firm. The stage is set for a potential showdown, as the date looms closer. Most, if not all, a ir c arriers have provided the Agency wit h a plan to meet the deadline. However, the means to achieve those plans in the short amount of time remaining is becoming a larger question. One example that stands out is Honeywell avionics, which has yet to offer an ADS - B solution; Southwest Airlines and others, are heavily dependent on Honeywell avionics. United Airlines has made significant progress in upgrading their B737 fleet , with 99 of 110 planned ADS - B installations compl ete. Several other airlines a re also showing increased fleet equipage. The military, as previously released in the press, expects to be unable to meet this deadline for several versions of the ir fighter and older aircraft. They are working with the Agency on a compromise that require s DOD radar availability at key sites to be identified. Many DOD Air Traffic facilities do not even plan to track aircraft via ADS - B. GA equipage is a harder question and being carried as a h igh risk by the SBS Program Offi ce. Increased avionics availabil ity and competition among manufacturers continues to bring the o verall cost for GA users down. In addition, the Agency has initiated another rebate program and it is showing some interest , but not as high as expected. The rebate program expires in Septembe r. The SBS PO very rough estimate of avionics installation capacity nationwid e is 50,000 aircraft per year. The rough estimate of all NAS aircraft that need to equip is 160,000. Users that wait too close to 2020 may find that the capacity for insta llation falls short of demand. Facilities may see these GA ADS - B operators flying more check flights as they attempt to validate their installations and claim the rebate. An issue not screened by automation systems but an important assumption for future ADS - B de pendent applications is the broadcast call sign of the user. ADS - B sends this information to automation systems for comp arison to the filed call sign. When a mismatch occurs , a Call Sign Mismatch (CSMM) alert can be g enerated. The SBS Article 114 work grou p has recommended disabling CSMM alerts ac ross all automation platforms. The issue was highlighted in recent Equip 2020 meetings since ADS - B dependent applications (CAVS, Advanced Interval Management, etc . ) are depen dent on this functionality. Monthly trac king continues to trend upward with June showing over 20,000 users generating CSMM conditions.