AIN is proud to announce the winner of the 2020 Top Flight Awards Technology category: Aviation groups that helped the industry meet the ADS-B deadline.
When the FAA signed off on the final rule that established the deadline for installation of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast equipment in most aircraft flying in the U.S., there was a lot of grumbling about the mandate. Aircraft owners questioned the expense, avionics shops wondered if they would get the equipment from manufacturers in time, and whether they would have enough capacity to install it in nearly 200,000 aircraft, and pilots wondered what the fuss was all about. But as the benefits of ADS-B became clear, the rush to install the equipment commenced.
Business and general aviation-related groups that participated in the ADS-B equipage effort included: AEA-Aircraft Electronics Association; AOPA-Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association; EAA-Experimental Aircraft Association; GAMA-General Aviation Manufacturers Association; NATA-National Air Transportation Association; and NBAA-National Business Aviation Association. While magazine and online articles did their best to explain ADS-B, these groups helped pilots understand not only what the equipage mandate meant but also the benefits of ADS-B Out and In. They also worked closely with the FAA to make sure the final rule made sense and that requirements around installation and operation made equipping easier and ultimately, for many aircraft owners, reasonably priced.
Visit http://www.ainonline.com/topflightawards to see the nominees for this year’s awards.