Field Installations Begin In Alaska

ADS-B is coming... and Chelton Flight Systems says it will be ready. The company tells ANN it recently began field installation of version 6.0B software in southeastern Alaska under the Capstone Phase II Program.

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.

FMI: www.cheltonflightsystems.com