When will the price for Capstone ADS-B equipment see a reduction now that the FAA has announced that ADS-B out is to be used in the national air space for NexGen?
Experts and FAA officials say that manufacturers will not build any Capstone style ADS-B in and out (978Mghz) equipment until there is a standard. Once a standard is in place production will proceed and prices for the equipment will drop. Provided the FAA approves the Capstone style ADS-B nationwide.
According to a response to the Notice of Proposed Rule Making for Automatic Dependent Surveillance—Broadcast (ADS-B) out performance requirements to Support air traffic control service 72 Fed. Register 56947 (proposed October, 5, 2007) Docket No. FAA-2007-29305 by the Air Transport Association, the FAA has yet to set a standard for ADS-B out and in. The ATA recommends using both (Capstone like) in the NAS, not solely ADS-B 1090 Extended Squitter out.
The Air Transport Association is made up of major airline members, and represents their interests. In their response to the NPRM the ATA voices their concern about this issue as one of the main stumbling blocks of ADS-B equipage issue, and implementation into the NAS.
“…the ATA is concerned that FAA already has signed a contract to initiate the implementation of an ADS-B ground infrastructure, but has not developed operating applications or technical standards for ADS-B In, nor reasonably assessed the substantially greater potential impact on operators of ADS-B In.
In other words the Capstone ADS-B used here in Alaska has “Out” and “In” and the FAA has yet to set a standard for both being used together.
The ADS-B out signal on 1090Mghz has an International standard adopted by the U.S. that is shared for ADS-B, TIS-B and air traffic control.
The “ Capstone ADS-B signal standards on 978 Mghz” issue is of concern here in Alaska now because Gov. Palin recently signed into law a low-interest revolving loan to equip Alaska aircraft with ADS-B.
The question here that is dying to be asked is…how could the FAA ask the State of Alaska to kick in money to equip aircraft if there is no “standard” for the equipment to be compatible, in the future?
Hank Krawkowski, chief operating officer for the Air Traffic Organization, said the FAA needs the Capstone Statewide Agreement Implementation Committee to obtain the funds under a memorandum of agreement for the state to receive $187 million in services from the FAA. This figure is included in proposed budgeting for Alaska of $493 million for future aviation infrastructure improvements.
I’ll bet Sarah Palin did not know that when she penned the bill to create the loan, another interesting detail is whether the Alaska Implementation Committee who signed an agreement with the FAA is aware of the limitations in front of them?
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Equipage Bill Signed...but where is the money for General Aviation aircraft?
Governor Palin offered this bill on Jan. 25, 2008 with $4.8 million, she did her job. Now, it is up to industry to come up with $34 million more to equip 95 percent of Alaska's aircraft by an FAA deadline, can they do it?
A bill to offer a low-interest loan program to aircraft owners who install a new digital link technology in their aircraft was signed by Gov. Sarah Palin on April 9 in Juneau.
Senate Bill 249, which Palin sponsored and introduced Jan. 25, provides Alaskan airplane owners the opportunity to use a new low-interest revolving loan program to purchase Capstone-like avionics equipment for their aircraft.
The technology, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, was tested in Alaska and was formally called the Capstone Safety Project.
ADS-B is a data link that uses ultra-high frequency radio to send and receive information about other aircraft that uses the technology. Along with multi-function screens and air traffic displays, the equipment also gives pilots graphical weather information, terrain maps and flight information, including temporary flight restrictions and notices to airmen. ADS-B is nearly 10 times more accurate than radar and operates in real time.
The $4.8 million loan program for installation is offered through the state Department of Community, Commerce and Economic Development.
The program is also a key component to the Federal Aviation Administration's plans to adopt ADS-B throughout the state, according to the governor.
Statewide aviation officials, working in the Capstone Statewide Agreement Implementation Committee, last year signed a memorandum of agreement with the FAA to obtain $34 million and equip 95 percent of the most frequently flown aircraft. If this is accomplished, the FAA has said that it will invest $493 million in services and infrastructure improvements across Alaska.
Industry officials tried lobbying legislators for additional funding, but came up empty handed. That forced the idea of offering a 4 percent loan to commercial aviation operators, according to industry officials.
“This legislation is a crucial step to improving aviation safety,” Palin said in a written release. “Studies have shown very significant improvements in aviation safety in the areas around Bethel and Southeast where the FAA has built ground stations and planes have been outfitted with the new equipment. We are hoping for similar results over a much larger area of Alaska.”
Alaska has the highest number of pilots per capita of any state - about one in 78 Alaskans is a pilot. Alaska also has the highest aviation accident rates in the nation, three to four times higher than the national average for commercial aviation.
The FAA plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on ground stations that transmit the ADS-B signal, but it will be up to aircraft owners to outfit their planes.
FAA officials said nearly 4,000 aircraft statewide would need to install and use the equipment to justify spending nearly $500 million now in the future.
The FAA recently announced it intends to have NexGen ADS-B installed at most high aviation traffic areas in U.S. and in Alaska by 2013, and will have the technology deployed nationwide by 2020.
NexGen is the FAA's official term for the next generation of aircraft control systems, also known as ADS-B.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1350207/governor_signs_bill_approving_loans_for_aircraft_safety_equipment/
http://www.alaskajournal.com/
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/arc/programs/capstone/?CFID=32230658&CFTOKEN=da7e758f27c879cc-71C2099C-1372-4138-C96EF28CB07377E6&jsessionid=1230bc5481fa252c3131
http://www.cheltonflightsystems.com/default.htm
A bill to offer a low-interest loan program to aircraft owners who install a new digital link technology in their aircraft was signed by Gov. Sarah Palin on April 9 in Juneau.
Senate Bill 249, which Palin sponsored and introduced Jan. 25, provides Alaskan airplane owners the opportunity to use a new low-interest revolving loan program to purchase Capstone-like avionics equipment for their aircraft.
The technology, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, was tested in Alaska and was formally called the Capstone Safety Project.
ADS-B is a data link that uses ultra-high frequency radio to send and receive information about other aircraft that uses the technology. Along with multi-function screens and air traffic displays, the equipment also gives pilots graphical weather information, terrain maps and flight information, including temporary flight restrictions and notices to airmen. ADS-B is nearly 10 times more accurate than radar and operates in real time.
The $4.8 million loan program for installation is offered through the state Department of Community, Commerce and Economic Development.
The program is also a key component to the Federal Aviation Administration's plans to adopt ADS-B throughout the state, according to the governor.
Statewide aviation officials, working in the Capstone Statewide Agreement Implementation Committee, last year signed a memorandum of agreement with the FAA to obtain $34 million and equip 95 percent of the most frequently flown aircraft. If this is accomplished, the FAA has said that it will invest $493 million in services and infrastructure improvements across Alaska.
Industry officials tried lobbying legislators for additional funding, but came up empty handed. That forced the idea of offering a 4 percent loan to commercial aviation operators, according to industry officials.
“This legislation is a crucial step to improving aviation safety,” Palin said in a written release. “Studies have shown very significant improvements in aviation safety in the areas around Bethel and Southeast where the FAA has built ground stations and planes have been outfitted with the new equipment. We are hoping for similar results over a much larger area of Alaska.”
Alaska has the highest number of pilots per capita of any state - about one in 78 Alaskans is a pilot. Alaska also has the highest aviation accident rates in the nation, three to four times higher than the national average for commercial aviation.
The FAA plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on ground stations that transmit the ADS-B signal, but it will be up to aircraft owners to outfit their planes.
FAA officials said nearly 4,000 aircraft statewide would need to install and use the equipment to justify spending nearly $500 million now in the future.
The FAA recently announced it intends to have NexGen ADS-B installed at most high aviation traffic areas in U.S. and in Alaska by 2013, and will have the technology deployed nationwide by 2020.
NexGen is the FAA's official term for the next generation of aircraft control systems, also known as ADS-B.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1350207/governor_signs_bill_approving_loans_for_aircraft_safety_equipment/
http://www.alaskajournal.com/
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/arc/programs/capstone/?CFID=32230658&CFTOKEN=da7e758f27c879cc-71C2099C-1372-4138-C96EF28CB07377E6&jsessionid=1230bc5481fa252c3131
http://www.cheltonflightsystems.com/default.htm
Monday, April 14, 2008
Is Chelton really working with UAA?
This just out from a Chelton press release:
Chelton Product Support is working in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the University of Alaska Anchorage to update software on and provide operator training for nearly 90 Part 23 aircraft during the months of March and April. Software version 6.0B was TSO’d in December, 2007 and is DO-178B Level-A certified. Among its 40 new end-user benefits is the ability to integrate with and display Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) on Chelton’s Synthetic Vision EFIS displays, greatly enhancing pilot awareness and flight safety.
ADS-B works differently than conventional radar, which bounces radio waves from terrestrial antennas off of airborne targets and then interprets the reflected signals. Typically, ADS-B-capable aircraft will use an ordinary GPS navigation receiver to determine its position, and then combine that position with several aircraft parameters, such as flight number, heading, speed, and altitude. This data is simultaneously broadcast to other ADS-B-equipped aircraft and to ASD-B ground stations, or to satellite communications transceivers which relay the aircraft information to Air Traffic Control centers.
Installation of 6.0B and pilot training is part of Chelton Flight Systems’ contract under the Capstone Program, a joint industry and FAA Alaskan Region initiative to improve aviation safety in that state.
As part of that program, Chelton fielded Synthetic Vision systems with Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems (TAWS), eliminating the incidence of CFIT accidents among equipped Part 23 aircraft. The addition of an ADS-B datalink capability to Synthetic Vision-equipped aircraft will result in even greater situational awareness, improved safety in poor visual conditions, and a reduced the risk of runway incursions in addition to providing weather products (including METAR and TAF information).
Chelton Flight Systems, part of the Cobham Avionics & Surveillance Division, is the manufacturer of the world’s first FAA-certified synthetic vision EFIS, which is now STC’d on over 740 airplane and helicopter models.
Chelton Product Support is working in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the University of Alaska Anchorage to update software on and provide operator training for nearly 90 Part 23 aircraft during the months of March and April. Software version 6.0B was TSO’d in December, 2007 and is DO-178B Level-A certified. Among its 40 new end-user benefits is the ability to integrate with and display Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) on Chelton’s Synthetic Vision EFIS displays, greatly enhancing pilot awareness and flight safety.
ADS-B works differently than conventional radar, which bounces radio waves from terrestrial antennas off of airborne targets and then interprets the reflected signals. Typically, ADS-B-capable aircraft will use an ordinary GPS navigation receiver to determine its position, and then combine that position with several aircraft parameters, such as flight number, heading, speed, and altitude. This data is simultaneously broadcast to other ADS-B-equipped aircraft and to ASD-B ground stations, or to satellite communications transceivers which relay the aircraft information to Air Traffic Control centers.
Installation of 6.0B and pilot training is part of Chelton Flight Systems’ contract under the Capstone Program, a joint industry and FAA Alaskan Region initiative to improve aviation safety in that state.
As part of that program, Chelton fielded Synthetic Vision systems with Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems (TAWS), eliminating the incidence of CFIT accidents among equipped Part 23 aircraft. The addition of an ADS-B datalink capability to Synthetic Vision-equipped aircraft will result in even greater situational awareness, improved safety in poor visual conditions, and a reduced the risk of runway incursions in addition to providing weather products (including METAR and TAF information).
Chelton Flight Systems, part of the Cobham Avionics & Surveillance Division, is the manufacturer of the world’s first FAA-certified synthetic vision EFIS, which is now STC’d on over 740 airplane and helicopter models.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Will future ADS-B in Alaska be the real deal?
Feds: At play in the fields of the Lord!
Anchorage, AK-(April 13, 2008)-- It has come to my attention that some within the Federal Aviation Administration are not being completely forthcoming about the information that it is giving in regards to the implementation of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast technology here in Alaska. For that matter how ADS-B will work in the National Airspace System may be skewed as well.
The purpose of this blog is to start a dialog with those in Alaska (or anyone anywhere) who believes that the Universal Access Transceiver version of ADS-B tested here in Alaska is the 'Right' way to go with future installations.
What am I saying...? I am asking for information about whether Alaska is going to get tricked into getting the 1090 MHz extended squitter, or are we going to get the two-way UAT ADS-B technology responsible for creating a 40+ percent safer flying environment in South West Alaska, and which won the 2007 Collier Trophy (http://www.ainonline.com/news/single-news-page/article/ads-b-program-wins-collier-trophy/?no_cache=1) .
I hope to ask some tough question here, so lets define why this is important.
Well--the hope is that individuals who believe in the hard won Capstone Program that proved how technology could benefit pilots and passenger safety by adding additional two-way situational awareness into the cockpit of Rural flying aircraft can use this vehicle to inform me ( a media person) with real facts.
These facts are not available to me by asking Federal Aviation Administration officials for story related information. Either by email, phone conversation, or by the Freedom of Information Act.
In fact, many of the FOIA's that I have submitted in the past year about ADS-B here in Alaska come back as "No known information on this topic is available."
That's odd because many of you who will read this have given me the names of documents, programs, contracts and meetings that are real, but according to the FAA have never happened, thus are not available via FOIA.
Strange?
It is my quest, and my job to inform industry and business about anything and everything that affects change to the economics of aviation in Alaska. Remember I am not the enemy media, but a messenger.
Without the raw-pure-facts, how can anyone hope to report an accurate story?
Please respond and help me by posting your knowledge of ADS-B UAT or the fake 1090 ES version as my plea for facts, and the truth. Let the facts speak for themselves.
Consider me the messenger for the Alaska aviation industry, and your inside knowledge as help for a pilots need to know about the goings on around the politics of ADS-B technology.
This a last chance to keep the Capstone Safety Program's legacy on track here in Alaska, use it.
Please respond!
RS-
http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2006/060510ads-b.html
http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/101506/tra_20061015010.shtml
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
