Avionics News November 2016 - 56

industry

ADS-B FOR FLIGHT SCHOOLS:

MAKING THE CASE
TO EQUIP NOW
S T O R Y

B Y

L I N D S E Y

lthough most small flight schools haven't
equipped with Automatic Dependent Surveillance
- Broadcast yet, some university flight departments now have extensive experience with ADS-B-equipped
aircraft and are believers in the benefits of ADS-B.
"ADS-B is a go/no-go item for us," said Ken Byrnes, flight
chair of the flight department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University. "It's essential equipment that literally saves lives."
Read on for ADS-B lessons, including enhanced safety,
better management of training events and more from ERAU,
the University of Central Missouri and the University of
North Dakota.
The mandate
On Jan. 1, 2020, the Federal Aviation Administration will
require all aircraft operating in U.S. airspace outlined in
§91.225 to have ADS-B Out equipment - that is, Class A, B
and C airspace; Class E airspace within the 48 contiguous
states and the District of Columbia at and above 10,000 feet
mean sea level, excluding the airspace at and below 2,500
feet above the surface; Class E airspace at and above 3,000
feet MSL over the Gulf of Mexico from the coastline of the
U.S. out to 12 nautical miles; and around airports specified in
Appendix D of Part 91.
§§91.225 and 91.227 set a minimum performance standard
for the ADS-B transmitter and the position sources. There are
two aspects to ADS-B: ADS-B Out, which transmits aircraft information to ADS-B receivers, and ADS-B In, which
allows aircraft to receive information, including traffic,
weather and other information.
56

avionics news

november

2016

M C F A R R E N

§91.225 only requires ADS-B Out. However, most flight
training organizations with experience with ADS-B In are
staunch advocates of both ADS-B Out and ADS-B In.
The benefits
1. Increased level of safety
Undoubtedly, the No. 1 reason to equip with ADS-B is to
enhance safety in flight training. UND's Grand Forks fleet of
60 Cessna 172s and 14 Piper Seminoles are all equipped with
ADS-B In, as are some Piper Arrows used for certified flight
instructor training and about half a dozen helicopters.
"See and avoid can only go so far," said Jeremy Roesler,
chief pilot at UND. "It's reactive and not proactive. ADS-B
is proactive."
ERAU's Byrnes also knows the safety value of ADS-B.
After a midair collision in uncontrolled airspace in 1995
and another in 1998, ERAU conducted risk assessments,
coordinated practice areas with other local flight training
organizations and worked with area air traffic control entities to determine a safer plan for the congested Daytona
Beach-area airspace. The university conducted studies using
Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems and ADS-B, considered
the success of ADS-B in the Capstone program in Alaska,
and found ADS-B to be the best solution, especially for the
ERAU Prescott, Arizona, campus, which is located in highdesert mountainous terrain where radar is not as effective as
in other terrain. The university then set about equipping its
fleet with ADS-B in 2003.
To demonstrate the need for ADS-B to ensure adequate
separation, Byrnes explained the concentrated traffic area of

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News November 2016