AIN Business Aviation NextGen Workshop Held at Embry-Riddle

AIN and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University hosted AIN’s Business Aviation NextGen Workshop on March 15 at the university’s Daytona Beach campus. The workshop was designed to help aircraft owners and operators learn more about complying with upcoming avionics mandates and help them understand how NextGen upgrades to the U.S. National Airspace System will affect their operations, including benefits available to those equipping sooner rather than later.

During the workshop Embry-Riddle hosted a session in its Florida NextGen Test Bed and ran a simulation of NextGen scenarios built on research conducted at the lab, following a presentation by Rich Jehlen, vice president of ATM services for LS Technologies.

The workshop also included presentations and discussions of NextGen avionics mandates and upgrade opportunities such as ADS-B and Fans by sponsors Banyan Air Service, Chicago Jet Group, Constant Aviation, Garmin, Rockwell Collins and Universal Avionics and an interactive panel session to discuss upgrade issues. Chicago Jet brought a real-time demo rig of its Fans solution, which is certified in a variety of jets, to show workshop attendees how Fans messaging works over a live Iridium satcom connected to a Universal Avionics FMS.

During a presentation on NextGen’s role in corporate aviation, NBAA COO Steve Brown noted that 85 percent of NBAA members have just one aircraft, and many of these are older aircraft with complex ADS-B and Fans upgrades. Multiple-aircraft flight departments also face challenges asking company leaders for capital expenditures to pay for upgrades and competing internally for company funds. “Aviation is not their core business,” he said. “Any capex for aviation competes with core capex.”

At the same time, more companies are asking their flight departments to prepare for international trips because of growing global operations, and this adds pressure to upgrade. Some Asia-Pacific countries already have ADS-B out requirements at certain altitudes and locations, and Fans is mandatory in some areas of the North Atlantic. “A couple of weeks ago,” Brown related, “a member called and said, ‘The boss came in and said we need to fly to Havana [Cuba] tomorrow.’ It’s not uncommon to have that kind of experience.” The concern is that the same will happen with ADS-B out, which becomes mandatory in U.S. airspace where transponders are required after midnight on Dec. 31, 2019, then about six months later in Europe. “Flight department and maintenance managers are hungry for solutions,” he said.

The repair stations that are installing NextGen upgrades are busy with ADS-B and Fans installations, but according to Ric Peri, vice president of government and industry affairs for the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA), “Capacity is going to be a critical issue.” For those hoping that the FAA will delay the ADS-B mandate deadline, he added, “I wouldn’t bank your business on it. The ADS-B rule is not a 2020 mandate, it is a 2020 grounding.”

There are just three years and eight months left until the deadline, and fewer than 1,000 work days left to bring the U.S. fleet into compliance with ADS-B out. About 20,000 general aviation aircraft had been done as of February 1, and another 140,000 are expected to need the upgrade. This means that avionics shops should be installing about 170 ADS-B upgrades per day right now. For the 27,000 turbine aircraft needing ADS-B out, only about 150 repair stations serve that market (not including factory-owned service centers), and each turbine aircraft installation takes 40 to 160 man-hours. Each of those repair stations will have to upgrade 180 aircraft during the time left before 2020. AEA members are already reporting six-week waits for scheduling ADS-B out upgrades. “In 2018 that will be six months,” Peri warned. “Plan your upgrade. We’ve got shops already scheduled multiple years. Get on the schedule.”

FAA and NextGen

“NextGen is a body of progress, procedures, software and activities that allows us to move aircraft very differently,” said Pamela Whitley, FAA deputy assistant administrator for NextGen. While NextGen and ADS-B specifically could replace ground-based radar systems with far more accurate GPS-based surveillance of aircraft, the FAA has no plans to eliminate radar systems. Controllers will be less dependent on radar, she explained, “but radar will still serve as augmentation and backup.”

NextGen isn’t just ADS-B; it also involves technologies such as performance-based navigation (PBN) routes, which are increasingly being deployed in the U.S., and datalink communications (DataComm), now live at many airports for issuance of datalink clearances (DCL). Those operators that have gone to the trouble and expense of equipping for Fans operations are seeing the benefits, not only in North Atlantic operations, but because they are also equipped to use DCL. At a busy airport such as Teterboro on a Friday afternoon when it is nearly impossible to break into the clearance delivery frequency with a request for a clearance, DCL vastly speeds up the process, with clearances requested and delivered digitally directly to the cockpit.

Whitley pointed out another advantage to datalink communications, when it becomes more widespread and used for more than just clearances: “Controllers anywhere can talk to any airplane.” Such capability would have been helpful after the 2014 fire at the Chicago FAA center facility, an event that caused havoc in the ATC system because it took hours to restore that facility’s communication capability.

Other ATC NextGen improvements in the near term include integrating delivery of weather information to ATC facilities.

The FAA has already upgraded its infrastructure to prepare for the influx of ADS-B-equipped aircraft. “We have upgraded en route and terminal systems,” Whitley said. For aircraft operators, “There is no time to delay.”

Breakout Sessions

Banyan Air Service

Neil Simon, Banyan avionics sales and business development manager, is worried that business aviation operators are waiting too long to schedule NextGen upgrades. “MROs are already booked out one or two months,” he said. “What’s going to happen next year and the year after?”

One strategy that can help save money during an upgrade is to schedule it when other maintenance is under way that involves removal of the interior. On a business jet, removal and reinstallation of the interior can cost from $6,000 to $13,000, he said, and doing both the upgrade and maintenance at the same time is far more efficient.

Banyan is offering incentives for operators: 50 percent off scheduled inspection prices if done during an ADS-B or Fans upgrade. Simon also pointed out that incentives from avionics manufacturers are available, too. For one package that priced out at $173,000, Banyan was able to find a bundled option from Rockwell Collins that lowered the price to $168,000 and added features. “Please get with your avionics shop and find out what the packages are,” he said.

Chicago Jet Group

Chicago Jet has certified a number of Fans upgrades for business jets and, as an operator itself, gained a lot of experience in Fans operations. Mike Mitera, president of Chicago Jet, outlined some of the problems that operators have faced during Fans operations, from how flight plans are filled out to correctly account for the NextGen equipment to difficulties with air traffic controllers for operators new to Fans operations. These problems can lead to automated violations being issued to operators, he warned, and he is concerned that operators new to Fans might find themselves having to spend a lot of time explaining what went wrong because of a simple misunderstanding.

To prevent this from happening, Mitera recommended, “Read the entire [Fans] message. We have to train ourselves to read everything and use proper CRM to respond to ATC.” He also recommends that operators make it a habit to test the Fans datalink after maintenance and anytime before flying into airspace where it will be used. “You should preflight the datalink system,” he said. “There are configurations in the [equipment], and if any of these get touched you need to check it. Make sure all the information is coming off the airplane correctly.”

During his presentation, Mitera and Chicago Jet avionics manager Kevin Hufford did a live presentation of Fans messaging using a demo rig equipped with a Universal FMS and Iridium satcom. Audience members were able to see actual Fans messages sent to and from the demo rig, including how responses are generated from the messages menu in the FMS.

Constant Aviation

Mark O’Donnell, executive vice president for MRO provider Constant Aviation, warned, “Shops are going to be very busy,” but there are also plenty of STCs and equipment available for ADS-B out and Fans upgrades. “You need to schedule a conversation with your MRO provider, and you do need to set aside time.”

For ADS-B out installations, Constant Aviation customers are experiencing downtimes ranging from two to 10 days and prices ranging from $35,000 to $135,000. “There are options,” he said. “Installations vary a lot. It depends on what you have [in the airplane] and what you want to accomplish.” For example, LPV approach capability is useful, but not required. Some upgrade packages allow the installation to be done in such a way to accommodate an LPV upgrade later.

O’Donnell addressed the issue of how NextGen upgrades will affect the value of business aircraft. “ADS-B is worldwide,” he said. “It’s not like it’s going to go away. You can do it now and get the benefits or do it during the pre-buy [when trying to sell the aircraft].”

Garmin

Garmin aviation regional sales manager Joe Stewart introduced the company’s new GTX 335/345 all-in-one dual-link ADS-B transponders, which provide ADS-B out for the more than 14,000 aircraft equipped with G1000 avionics. An approved model list STC covers nearly all of those aircraft, and the transponder is available in panel- or remote-mount versions, and also with Waas GPS. The GTX 335 is for ADS-B out only, while the GTX 345 offers ADS-B in as well. The GTX 345, he explained, correlates traffic input from traffic advisory (TAS), Tcas and ADS-B in all on one screen.

Stewart explained that pilots using Garmin’s Pilot mobile app can view traffic information–both TargetTrend and TerminalTraffic–on their mobile devices. Delivery of this information is via Garmin’s Flightstream data concentrator and Bluetooth transceiver, which is available in two versions, the 110 and 210. The Flightstream 210 has an AHRS sensor that drives the synthetic vision display in the Garmin Pilot and also ForeFlight Mobile apps.

Rockwell Collins

“ADS-B and STC interest has really increased in volume,” said Adam Evanschwartz, director for business and regional marketing at Rockwell Collins. “Our aim is to provide a full spectrum of options.”

To that end, Rockwell Collins is working with a number of aircraft manufacturers and repair stations on NextGen upgrades, most of which involve the company’s TDR-94-series transponder. The ADS-B-qualified version–the TDR-94D–“is certified and available today,” Evanschwartz said, and turn times for upgrading existing transponders to the latest configuration range from seven to 14 days. ADS-B upgrades are available now for thousands of airplanes equipped with Rockwell Collins Pro Line II, 4 and 21 avionics and even some Honeywell Primus 1000 and 2000 cockpits that have Rockwell Collins transponders and radios installed. “Solutions exist or are coming soon for all of these aircraft,” he said.

Some upgrade opportunities can include an airspace modernization package, which adds LPV approach capability to ADS-B, for example in Pro Line 21-equipped airplanes. There are 45 aircraft types and more than 5,500 equipped with Pro Line 21 avionics. “We have certifications on some,” he said, “and more are coming.” King Air operators can now opt for a Pro Line Fusion touchscreen flight deck upgrade, which should help preserve the value of these airplanes, especially as more new King Airs are delivered with the now-standard Fusion avionics.

Universal Avionics

Carey Miller, Universal Avionics manager of business development, has been involved in testing DLC using Fans equipment and the Universal FMS to receive the clearances. Unlike the current pre-departure clearances, which can’t be changed a half hour before departure time except via a voice radio call, DCL changes can be made at any time and updates sent directly to the FMS. During a recent test in Louisville, Ky., it took only 22 seconds to request and receive the clearance. When properly equipped, Miller said, “You’re sitting at Teterboro on a Friday, fighting everybody else [to get a clearance] and you’re leaving and they’re still waiting.” He also pointed out that the FAA does not require a letter of authorization for DCL.

To help encourage operators to make NextGen upgrades, Miller said, “Manufacturers are offering incentives. Facilities have capacity today.” Rockwell Collins and Universal have partnered to offer package savings of $8,000 to $10,000 for orders placed by July 1. Another incentive for many operators is that with some ADS-B upgrades, which require a GPS position source that meets specific accuracy standards, LPV approach capability is automatically added. “It’s rock solid,” he said, “and better than ILS. LPV gives you a stabilized approach to the runway surface.”