Avionics News September 2016 - 14

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Continued from page 13

FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
ADS-B
Choosing the right ADS-B options
QUESTION:

At the Experimental Aircraft Association
AirVenture in July, one of the common questions
I answered was: There are so many options, but
where do I start?

ANSWER:

First, a few years ago, you would never
conceive that there would be too many options;
congratulations to the avionics industry for
providing so many. That is certainly a good
problem to have.
The visitors to the AEA booth at AirVenture all
seemed to need help with that first step; it was a
common discussion.
In the July 2015 edition of Avionics News, we
highlighted the AOPA online ADS-B Out selector
tool available at www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources/
Aircraft-Ownership/Technology/ADS-B/ADS-BSelector. This is still the best source to help the
owner/operator focus on which technology is best
for their type of operations.
There is one fundamental question that should
be answered: Where does the aircraft fly? And

EUROPE

News & Regulatory Updates
Summer update
As summer comes to a close, the Aircraft Electronics
Association has been busy representing the European membership.
As was reported at the AEA Europe Connect conference
in January, the European Aviation Safety Agency has reorganized its Safety Standards Consultative Committee and its
subcommittees. Moving forward, the SSCC will migrate to
14

avionics news

september

2016

also, where does the aircraft expect to fly? The
regulation makes a distinction at the Flight
Level 180. Above FL 180 requires TSO-C166b
equipment operating on frequency of 1090
megahertz. Below FL 180 allows for either TSOC166b equipment or TSO-C154c UAT equipment
operating on 978 MHz.
Please note that 14 CFR § 91.225 does
not explicitly require ADS-B equipment to
be approved under the TSO but does allow
for the equipment to "meet the performance
requirements." This provision is especially noted
for experimental, amateur-built aircraft.
There are two more considerations in deciding
which technology to pursue. Will the aircraft fly
internationally? If the answer is yes, then the TSOC166b equipment is a better option since, as of this
writing, no other country has a dual ADS-B Out
approach.
The final consideration is for aircraft operating
under Part 135. While not directly related to
the ADS-B requirements, § 135.143 requires
transponder equipment installed after Jan. 1, 1992,
to meet the appropriate class of TSO-C112 (Mode
S). So again, TSO-C166b equipment also meeting
TSO-C112 (Mode S) may be a better solution.

the EASA Stakeholder Advisory Body and the subcommittees will become Technical Bodies.
The Engineering and Maintenance subcommittee that the
AEA has participated in for the past decade will transition
to the Engineering and Maintenance Technical Body. Other
than a name change, we do not anticipate any significant
changes at the subcommittee level.

BREXIT
What does it mean for aviation? Mostly, at this point, a
lot of questions. One issue is that the FAA/EASA Bilateral
Aviation Safety Agreement is not between the FAA and
the EASA, but rather between the United States and the
European Union. As such, when Great Britain secedes from

http://www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources/Aircraft-Ownership/Technology/ADS-B/ADS-B-Selector http://http:////www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources/Aircraft-Ownership/Technology/ADS-B/ADS-B-Selector http://http:////www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources/Aircraft-Ownership/Technology/ADS-B/ADS-B-Selector

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