AOPA: Cessna CEO is not sold on benefits of ADS-BJack Pelton, CEO of Cessna Aircraft, said costs and benefits should be analyzed for automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast. The Federal Aviation Administration will require all aircraft to install ADS-B by 2020. “The jury’s still out on real benefits of ADS-B mandate,” said Pelton. FlightGlobal.com
AOPA: Study: NextGen should have backup system for GNSSThe NextGen reliance on GNSS for safety-critical functions overlooks the need for a backup system, according to a study published by GPS World. The GNSS signal could be lost due to intentional jamming or from radio frequency interference. GPS World
AOPA: NextGen investments slated for sharp increaseAirports are retiring radar-based air traffic control systems, but billions of dollars are still needed before the successor NextGen system is fully operational. Companies such as Honeywell and Rockwell Collins Inc. could see double-digit hardware sales as the industry undertakes a broad upgrade designed to reduce delays and improve efficiency. MarketWatch
AOPA: Column: Novel detailed early version of NextGenElectrical engineer Bob Pilley details his struggles to build a GPS-based aviation system similar to NextGen in the early 1990s in “Sacred Skies.” Although a work of fiction, the book draws on real-life experiences from Pilley and his wife, a software engineer. “You have GPS in your car that tells you when to turn into Dunkin’ Donuts, but a $100 million aircraft depends on signs and paper charts,” said Pilley. The Telegraph (Nashua, N.H.)
AOPA: FAA rolls out Wide Area Multilateration in AlaskaThe Federal Aviation Administration rolled out Wide Area Multilateration, a new layer in the ADS-B system, in Alaska last month. “The new Wide Area Multilateration system is very much like the aviation version of a cell phone,” said Hank Krakowski, the FAA’s operating chief for air traffic operations. “This is a scalable technology, much like what you have been using in your cell phone and GPS for years.” The Cordova Times (Alaska)
AOPA: FAA awards $6.5B in contracts for NextGenThe Federal Aviation Administration awarded six contracts worth up to $6.5 billion for NextGen recently. According to FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto, the awards are the largest in the agency’s history. Replacing the country’s radar-based air traffic control system by 2025 could cost up to $22 billion. Dayton Daily News (Ohio)