F L I G H T P L A N N I N G
stated clearly that multiple requests in a short time period
will not be allowed. These exemptions will likely
be applied to foreign aircraft, ferry/delivery aircraft and
medical emergencies.
“There is no reasonable way of getting around this
mandate for any corporate flight department. Quite simply,
those who do not have it installed will find themselves
grounded,” Kang adds.
Aircraft without ADS-B equipped will not be able
to operate in Class A, B or C airspace, or any
airspace above 10,000 ft mean sea level over
the contiguous 48 states. The extent of airspace
covered by the ADS-B mandate means flight
and support will be “virtually impossible” if
a charter operator’s aircraft does not have
ADS-B, believes Kang. “The case-by-case
exception is coordinated at the time of
departure with ATC and there is no guarantee
the operator will be cleared — this makes
planning an operation extremely problematic.
“At the trip support company’s end, we
cannot help the operator get the clearance with
ATC. The operator has to become compliant before
planning any operations.”
Space gains
Eventually, ADS-B will become the primary communication
method between air traffic controllers and aircraft. ADS-B
technology also shifts the primary navigation method to
GPS and will use radio beacons and radar as a secondary
method. In the future, very high frequency omni-directional
Above: ADS-B Out links
together aircraft and ATC for
efficiency and safety gains
56 | BU S INE S S A I R P O RT INT E RNAT I ONA L O C TO B E R 2 0 1 9
range (VOR) navigation systems will be gradually
decommissioned as they become unnecessary. An ADS-B
transmitter will report telemetry once per second, while
current transponders vary anywhere from once every 3 to
12 seconds. Kang says, “If you are flying in a congested
airspace like metro New York, 12 seconds is an eternity for
controllers to not be entirely sure where an operator is.
“This is a major change to flight operations around
the world. Whether one thinks it is good or not
is immaterial — but what is clear is that it is a
necessity if we want to fit more aircraft into the
same airspace.”
Safety benefits
The primary advantage ADS-B provides to
business aviation is the facilitation of better
communications with aircraft, which alongside
the constant stream of location data, provides
gains in safety. Kang says, “Most air traffic
incidents happen from miscommunication and
this technology will help to mitigate that.
“The steady stream of telemetry from the
aircraft also means we can more reliably track
aircraft to offer ground support. If an aircraft needs to
divert, we will see it happening in real time, so a sudden
change of plans will be immediately actioned.
“Currently, if something does go wrong mid-flight, we
may only know about it after the crew lands somewhere and
calls in. Until then, the crew is basically on its own. With this
technology, we can always have someone watching over
them wherever they are.”
“There is no
reasonable way of
getting around the ADS-B
mandate – those who do not
have it installed will find
themselves grounded”
David Kang, Avplan trip support
account manager