Cockpit Avionics Part I: The U.S. ADS-B Mandate

The deadline for equipping your aircraft with ADS-B is only 35 months away. Aircraft owners and operators hoping that the FAA is going to delay the implementation of the upcoming mandate might want to think carefully about what they plan to do after midnight Dec. 31, 2019. Come 12:00:01 a.m. Jan. 1, 2020, aircraft without ADS-B out will be prohibited from flying in much of the airspace covering the U.S. The FAA has clearly said that the ADS-B out rule will not be delayed. The bottom line: if you want to fly in airspace that currently requires a transponder after midnight Dec. 31, 2019, your aircraft will need rule-compliant ADS-B out. 

At a meeting a few months ago held by a regional business aviation group, one of the avionics shop managers expressed concern that some pilots he had spoken with had zero knowledge of ADS-B out and the rapidly approaching deadline. These were pilots flying business jets whose owners had made no plans for the upgrade, and this shop manager was surprised that these pilots not yet even begun the education process.

While the number of aircraft that have been upgraded for ADS-B out is climbing, the most recent statistics suggest that the fleet of 150,000 or so airplanes that will need this new capability is nowhere near where it should be to meet the deadline. There will be grounded aircraft on Jan. 1, 2020.