Pilot's Guide to Avionics 2016-2017 - 56
ADS-B DATE Continued from page 55 and zoom to different locations and activate various map capabilities, including: * 3-D depictions of ADS-B airspace, airports and temporary flight restrictions in real time. * Overlays of where ADS-B surveillance coverage is provided at altitudes of 500; 1,500; 3,000; 5,000 and 10,000 feet AGL . * Non-radar airspace where aircraft transmitting ADS-B can be seen by ATC . The research page also includes a list of all FAAcertified equipment. Each type of ADS-B unit must be paired with a specific position source, such as a Wide Area Augmentation System, approved by the FAA for your make and model aircraft . Aircraft owners can avoid problems by being certain the specific position source being installed is approved to be paired with the ADS-B Out unit being installed . What can ADS-B do for me? This is the key question most pilots want to answer as they decide whether they need to equip . With the ADS-B ground network operational across the country, pilots in equipped aircraft have access to air traffic services that provide a new level of safety, better situational awareness and more efficient search and rescue. ADS-B transmissions include position, altitude, velocity, aircraft number and other information . ADS-B coverage is more extensive than radar, especially at lower altitudes where general aviation aircraft often fly; it is also much more precise. ADS-B uses GPS, which fixes position much more accurately than radar . It also provides faster position update rates of about once per second compared to about once every 12 seconds for radar . It takes a while for a rotating radar antenna to circle back to the point where it first spotted an aircraft target to make the next observation . ADS-B coverage also is often better than radar coverage in the mountains . If you want to know the details of how ADS-B Out and In will work for you in your aircraft, and how they interact with the ground infrastructure created by the FAA, visit www.faa.gov/go/equipadsb . New ADS-B compliant equipment search tool The Equip ADS-B website also has a new ADS-B equipment search tool that lets you enter your aircraft information to search for ADS-B equipment either as separate components or part of a complete installation solution . Installation considerations The Installation section of the website is designed to help general aviation aircraft owners and the repair shops . It provides information on the hardware you - 56 -