Include Extended Squitter Capability For NextGen Ops
Garmin announced Thursday it has received the FAA's TSO-C166a
authorization for the GTX 330 and GTX 33 transponders with 1090 MHz
Extended Squitter (ES) transmission capabilities. Garmin is the
first in the industry to receive TSO-C166a authorization for a
general aviation transponder, and the company says this equipment
will establish aircraft on the path towards complying with the
FAA's proposed requirement for ADS-B equipage.
"Pilots are starting to ask what Extended Squitter technology is
and why it's important. ES is the cornerstone of the FAA's Next
Generation airspace system and it provides precise information
about the aircraft's location to Air Traffic Control and other
ADS-B equipped aircraft in the vicinity," said Gary Kelley,
Garmin's vice president of marketing. "We are proud to be the first
to bring this important, backbone technology to general and
business aviation, and are determined to continue innovating
products that will offer customers an affordable way to comply with
the FAA's NextGen system requirements."
The FAA is beginning to implement a nationwide ADS-B
infrastructure of ground stations to improve traffic efficiency and
improve situational awareness in the cockpit. The FAA announced a
dual link decision using the 1090 MHz ES and UAT mediums for ADS-B,
and has proposed a mandate that all aircraft have ADS-B Out
capabilities by January 1, 2020.
The addition of 1090 MHz ES transmission capabilities to
Garmin's Mode S transponders allows general aviation aircraft to
meet the FAA's proposed requirements because the ES transmissions
will automatically provide position, velocity and heading
information. This frequent and highly accurate aircraft state
information is intended to provide superior surveillance capability
for air traffic control, which is presently dependent upon aircraft
position information derived from ground radar interrogation that
has a slower update rate. The 1090 MHz ES builds upon the existing
transponder system by transmitting pertinent aircraft information
independent of being interrogated.
The transponder TSO also includes an
antenna diversity option, GTX 330D, that adds antenna diversity to
the features of the GTX 330 for improved air-to-air surveillance of
TCAS-equipped aircraft flying above the GTX 330D-equipped aircraft.
Under the FAA's current Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for NextGen
airspace published on October 5, 2007, (Docket No. FAA-2007-29305;
Notice No. 07-15), the GTX 330D meets the FAA requirements for
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipped
aircraft. The FAA has proposed a mandate that all aircraft have
ADS-B Out capabilities by January 1, 2020.
The 1090 MHz ES upgrade preserves all of the existing GTX 330
and GTX 33 features. This includes Mode S TIS-A datalink reception
and traffic, which are displayed on the GNS 430W, GNS 530W and GMX
200 displays.
Garmin plans to offer the ES technology as a retrofit upgrade
option for GTX 330s and GTX 33s already in the field, as well as an
optional upgrade on newly purchased GTX 330 and GTX 33
transponders.
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