Free TIS-B, FIS-B Available To Pilots With Equipped Planes

The FAA announced Thursday that pilots flying in aircraft equipped with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) avionics in South Florida now receive free traffic and weather information on their cockpit displays. This marks the first time area pilots are able see the same traffic information that's seen by air traffic controllers.

The display of traffic information (called Traffic Information Service-Broadcast, or TIS-B) and weather information (Flight Information Service-Broadcast, or FIS-B) was made possible by the installation of 11 ground stations in South Florida by ITT Corp. The ground stations transmit satellite signals showing aircraft locations to pilots and controllers.

Flight information now being broadcast free to pilots includes graphical displays of weather tracked by the National Weather Service and essential flight information, including special-use airspace and temporary flight restrictions.

The agency says it's is on track in its aggressive plan to deploy ADS-B nationwide, beginning in Florida. Full commissioning of broadcast services in Florida is scheduled for November. Once commissioning takes place, ground stations will start transmitting as soon they are installed and readied for service.

ADS-B ground stations providing both TIS-B and FIS-B services will be deployed along the East and West Coasts, areas of the Midwest and portions of Alaska by 2010. By 2013, ADS-B coverage will be in place everywhere the FAA now provides radar coverage. There will also be coverage in places where radars can’t be deployed, such as the Gulf of Mexico.

ITT was awarded the national contract to establish the ground infrastructure for ADS-B a year ago. The 11 sites in Southern Florida are at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, Hardee, Okeechobee, Dade-Collier Airport, Key West, St. Cloud, Sebastian Municipal Airport, Hobe Sound, Boca Raton Airport, Homestead Dade Marina and Florida Keys Marathon Airport.

FMI: www.faa.gov