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| 997 in Arlington, Washington. |
Keeping up with technology is no easy feat, no matter what part of your life. Aviation is no exception. In 2020, there will be a new requirement for airplanes large and small if they are going to fly anywhere in
Class A, B or C airspace. That's pretty much everywhere you want to go.
For most of us, an investment will need to be made to
install ADS-B avionics. ADS-B is short for a mouthful, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast. The legislation only requires the installation of the out (broadcast) feature so that air traffic controllers can monitor your location and provide collision avoidance data to other aircraft.
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| Our Garmin 430W GPS moving map display. |
For an added expense, you can include a receive feature that gives you in-the-cockpit displays of traffic and weather information. Because of these value added features, now was the right time for us to install an ADS-B system in our Piper Arrow 997. We went to
Cannon Avionics in Arlington, Washington and Jim Peake took really good care of us.
You can purchase lower cost
portable receive-only devices (many are apps that run om an iPad with a built-in GPS), but we wanted an FAA approved system that would comply with the 2020 broadcast regs and give us the in-cockpit displays.
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| Traffic display on iPad. |
We already have an FAA IFR approved Garmin 430W GPS. We've had it about fifteen years (amazing for anything electronic) and had it upgraded to IFR certifiable ten years ago. For this most recent upgrade, a
Garmin Dual-Link ADS-B transmitter/receiver was added in the tail of the plane. That was linked to the 430W in our front panel, and the new displays are now visible on the moving map.
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| Synthetic Vision on iPad. |
We added the new
Garmin Flightstream component that allows you to use Bluetooth technology to receive the moving map information on an iPad running Garmin Pilot software. Since Wayne and I are both pilots, it's a nice feature, and the larger iPad display makes traffic and course monitoring easier for the co-pilot. The
Garmin Pilot software includes FAA approved charts that can be used instead of their paper counterparts. Keeping charts and approach plates current has never been easier. And because of the Bluetooth communication link, you can create flight plans at home and transfer them directly into the GPS. Sweet!
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| Split screen with moving map and traffic display. |
We're still setting up and learning all of the features of our new ADS-B avionics. It really is a two pilot operation. One keeps their eyes outside visually looking for traffic and flying the plane. The other plans the route, navigates, watches traffic flow on the iPad, and communicates with ATC. Can you guess who is who?
Are you a pilot or just enjoy reading about flying adventures?
Up the Airway wings you across Canada to show off the beautiful country from up above. Fly along with us in our Piper Arrow, land to camp at remote strips with gorgeous scenery, and meet unique animals like the muskox. -- Margy
Oh yeah, this is just awesome! How intresting and informative.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by to comment. It really makes our flying a lot easier, as long as one of us keeps looking outside. - Margy
DeleteWow - amazing information and technology. It is sure to be a big help, especially in emergencies - and may you have no emergencies.
ReplyDeleteA part of flying is preparing for emergencies before they can happen. We've had a few problems over the years, but nothing that turned into a true emergency. - Margy
DeleteI guess all of life is getting more complicated. I'm not a pilot but did take flying lessons many years ago. My daughter is a pilot, though. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's fun, but I never would have learned if my husband wasn't a pilot and a flight instructor. It works well for us. He flies from the right seat, the position flight instructors prefer, and I fly from the right. With dual controls in our plane we can both fly without changing seats. - Margy
Delete