But What About The Cost... And Backup Systems?

It's a little early, but officials at the FAA have already started on their Christmas list... and at the top of that list is a national air traffic control system utilizing GPS -- and ONLY GPS -- technology by the year 2014.

That, of course, would mean the radar-based system controllers have used since the late 1940s would be phased out... something FAA Administrator Marion Blakey says can't come a moment too soon, as the new satellite-based system would mean safer air travel for all.

The new Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast System, or ADS-B, will provide more detailed information to ground controllers than radar can provide -- AND it can also transmit that information to pilots, providing them with better situational awareness because they will know where their own aircraft are with greater accuracy, and their displays will show them all the aircraft in the air around them.

The FAA says pilots will also be able to maintain safe separation from other aircraft with fewer instructions from ground-based controllers. At night and in poor visual conditions, pilots will also be able to see where they are in relation to the ground using on-board avionics and terrain maps.

ADS-B has undergone testing in Australia and Alaska, as well as by UPS at its hub in Louisville, KY.

However, there is the matter of money... airlines are worried ADS-B will cost too much, although the FAA says after their initial $600 million investment in the new technology, airlines will wind up saving $1.3 billion through trip savings.

AOPA Says ADS-B Still Needs A Backup

The world of aviation moves pretty fast -- and if you need any proof, consider that it really wasn't all that long ago that another "new" technology was being heralded: loran, or long range navigation, which was the first technology to give pilots a high-performance area navigation system.

Until GPS receivers began showing up in cockpits, VOR technology -- a successor of sorts to the original loran system, itself an outgrowth of a British system used in WWII -- was the gold standard. Of course, VORs are still around today -- and pilots are still taught how to navigate from VOR to VOR, even though many GA pilots have retired their loran units with the advent of GPS.

Pilots can still use the loran system for backup navigation, though... and that's an option the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association doesn't want to see cast aside by the FAA's focus on ADS-B, and subsequent retirement of VOR stations. AOPA president Phil Boyer has asked the FAA to look into the feasibility of continuing to maintain loran even after ADS-B becomes the new standard... since no backup system for GPS currently exists, and those satellites DO go out of order from time to time.

"Once gone, loran will no longer be a backup option, and any other suitable aviation alternative would likely be more costly, take longer to implement, and would be the responsibility of the FAA exclusively," AOPA President Phil Boyer told FAA Administrator Marion Blakey. "Let's look before we leap on this issue."

AOPA has asked the FAA to direct the industry advisory council, RTCA, to "evaluate and validate loran's performance and viability as a backup navigation signal that supports RNP 0.3 performance and ADS-B requirements," and to propose a loran oversight council including the responsible federal agencies and aviation navigation users.

Boyer did express his appreciation for the FAA's position that ADS-B could result in cost savings for the airlines... and the FAA.

"What [ADS-B] also demonstrates is that the FAA can replace an outdated technology costing billions with one costing millions, which certainly calls into question the claim that the agency needs more money to modernize the ATC system," said Boyer.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.aopa.org