In its recently released report, the ARC says it is "concerned with the ability of the FAA to approve operational procedures that would provide early operational benefits," and makes these recommendations - the first three of which it describes as key:

1. Collaborate with the aviation industry to aggressively develop an appropriate combination of financial incentives and accelerated operational benefits.

2. Accelerate and prioritize the identification of operations enabled by ADS-B, with approval of reduced separation standards for initial operations with a high level of user benefits by 2012.

3. Establish certification requirements for aircraft displays for ADS-B-In applications by 2010.

4. Extend the coverage of the ADS-B ground infrastructure to include high-value non-radar areas beyond those currently identified.

5. Apply radar-like separation standards for DO-260-equipped aircraft in the Gulf of Mexico area, and deploy an ADS-B infrastructure south of the Gulf to facilitate ADS-B traffic feeds.

(The ARC noted that many transport category aircraft now have DO-260 transponders that will broadcast ADS-B if they have a position input.  But in some installations, this input comes from the flight management system, not GPS, which makes their broadcast messages unusable for new ADS-B applications because of insufficient accuracy and quality.  In addition, various transponder manufacturers interpreted 1090 ES (extended squitter) requirements differently, resulting in inconsistent parameters being broadcast.)

6. Establish a mechanism to verify that existing DO-260 installations are capable of being used to achieve early operational benefits.

7. Collaborate with the aviation industry to determine which non-ADS-B avionics can be replaced by ADS-B equipage by 2010.

8. Provide preferred access to additional capacity and efficiencies enabled by ADS-B equipage.

9. Leverage the benefits of ADS-B information to incentivize equipage by establishing agreements with specific operators.

Other Notable ADS-B Issues and Opportunities

In its report the ARC noted these issues and opportunities that could affect equipage either positively or negatively.  Here is a summary:

• The cost of retrofitting aircraft that do not currently have ADS-B mandate compliant avionics is significant, which means it may not be practical for some aircraft, especially those that would be taken out of service before the compliance date of the proposed rule.

• The FAA has yet to certify many specific display packages for various functions and applications. Without a clear understanding of what equipage will be suitable for performing specific operations, it will be difficult for users to commit to equipage.

• Certification of one or several electronic flight bags (EFBs) might mitigate some uncertainty around needed avionics – such as displays – however, certification is often a lengthy process, and the necessary training for flight crews to use new equipment, applications, and procedures can also delay the accrual of benefits. If these processes can't be accelerated, decisions to equip become even more problematic.

• The air transportation industry will have to weigh the progress of ADS-B certification and application acceleration projects, in addition to a normal assessment of costs and benefits.  Significant and quantifiable benefits will likely be required to justify the early equipage of aircraft fleets, especially those fleets that may be retired before the proposed compliance date.

• Sharing ADS-B information with third parties could be an early commercially valuable application.  For example, if a database of ADS-B position reports were compiled on operations for a particular fleet of aircraft, that monitoring would provide a valuable analysis tool for optimizing fleet management practices.  The use of ADS-B analysis at flight schools has already demonstrated that these sorts of ancillary databases can be valuable for purposes not originally contemplated.

• ADS-B-In applications that are expected to provide the largest user benefits, and therefore motivate equipage, include the following:

  • Advanced Surface Operations.  These would include high-speed runway turnoff guidance and low visibility taxi capability to increase airport throughput in low visibility conditions to a level equivalent with visual conditions.

  • Advanced Terminal Applications. These would include airborne merging and spacing aimed at providing airport throughput in low visibility conditions equivalent to visual conditions, as well as improved operations in visual conditions by reducing spacing. The use of aircraft intent information would allow even more closely spaced terminal area routes, including departures and arrivals using RNP (required navigation performance) capabilities, and parallel approaches down to 700 feet centerline separation.

  • Advanced En Route and Cruise. These include in-trail passing, use of aircraft RNP capabilities, delegated separation, and aircraft-based separation management, all of which could increase airspace throughput.

Specific Financial Incentives for Equipage

While operational benefits will be important in motivating ADS-B equipage, the ARC believes that operational benefits alone aren't enough to encourage voluntary equipage by users, and some financial incentives will therefore be ecessary to encourage early equipage.  Here are some of its suggestions of financial incentives that government could offer users:

• Pay for the certification, purchase, and installation of the equipment.  Alaska's Capstone program relied on government-purchased avionics equipment, which provided a base of airplanes with installed equipment where quantifiable benefits could be validated.

• Provide a grant for the equipment.

• Provide an investment tax credit specifically for ADS-B avionics.

• Lower the effective excise tax rate (either fuel or other mechanisms) for operators who elect to equip with ADS-B avionics.

• Provide research and development tax credits to help offset the significant investments required of equipment manufacturers and installers.

• Reduce landing and overflight fees for ADS-B-equipped aircraft.

• Provide interest-free loans for equipage that are paid back when benefits are accrued.

10-16-2007.