Wingman: Gulf of Mexico ADS-B Demonstrates How Need Creates Action

When Matt Zuccaro, the president of the Helicopter Association International (HAI) spoke about the forthcoming ADS-B (automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast) program in the Gulf of Mexico at the RTCA Symposium 2006, last month, he was demonstrating once again how a well-defined need - plus some incentives - can precipitate action.

A recent MOA (memorandum of agreement) between the FAA and industry should lead to the installation of an operational ADS-B in the Gulf region.  Besides the FAA and the HAI, the May MOA included individual helicopter operators, platform operators and platform owners.

To appreciate the benefits of ADS-B in the Gulf of Mexico, Mr. Zuccaro told the RTCA audience, one must understand the operating environment that exists there.  Currently, there are about 650 helicopters that fly to more than 5,000 oil-drilling platforms as far as 250 miles from the coast, making about 7,500 trips per day.  Most of these operations are conducted between the surface and 5,000 feet, and are conducted in both visual and instrument conditions.

Yet, today, the majority of these aircraft can't communicate with, or be seen by air traffic control.  Nor do they have a normal infrastructure to provide weather information, or other generally expected services for similar operations conducted over land.

Because of this, on IFR (instrument flight rule) days helicopter flights there can be reduced by 95%, at a cost of several million dollars a day, due to lack of adequate communications, surveillance capability and real-time weather information.

So ADS-B and other modern services can enhance overall safety there by providing low-level communications, ATC surveillance and surveillance between aircraft, and better weather information, Mr. Zuccaro pointed out - all of which should not only increase safety, but add significant economic value as well.

It is instructive in a way to note that this ADS-B initiative in the Gulf of Mexico mirrors the success of the Capstone Program in Alaska in that each is addressing a well-recognized need for surveillance and pertinent flight information that wasn't being addressed by traditional surveillance and communications technologies.  The implementation of ADS-B in Alaska, and by flight training schools in Florida, Arizona, and North Dakota, show that when it is used to address specific operational needs and circumstances, it can be an attractive investment.  And the popularity of ADS-B in the U.S. Northeast corridor attests to its attractiveness to general aviation users.

AOPA has been a strong supporter of ADS-B, so long as it includes information about traffic and weather presented graphically - at an affordable price.  UPS, which has been a major player the FAA's Safe Flight 21 program, was an early ADS-B adopter and innovator, largely because it applies the technology to its specific needs.

Making the acquisition cost of new technology affordable is of course not always easy.  But when the need is great enough, novel financing arrangements have a way of being invented.  Capstone avionics were "free" for some users, and the helicopter industry is contributing "in-kind" investments of transportation and equipment sites in the Gulf program.  Eventually, however, the technology must pay its way onto aircraft, and real safety improvements and significant operational advantages can do that.

This doesn't mean that a widespread, universal transition to ADS-B from radar isn't a desirable or practical part of a comprehensive airspace modernization program.  Rather it highlights the natural inclination to address localized needs as soon as it becomes practical.  And these smaller steps contribute to a smarter progression in larger programs.  06-19-2006.

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