For aircraft owners taking advantage of the FAA’s $500 ADS-B Rebate, there is a five-step process you must follow.
Each of the five steps are rather logical:
- Decide: Select equipment for purchase and schedule installation;
- Reserve: Reserve your rebate, which requires a Reservation Code;
- Install: Install your ADS-B equipment;
- Fly and Validate: Fly in ADS-B airspace to validate equipment performance and receive your Incentive Code;
- Claim: Use your Reservation Code and Incentive Code to claim your $500 rebate.
See…logical.
The “Fly and Validate” step is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak.
After a recent validation flight, Jerry Stooksbury from Avionics Specialists in Loveland, Colo., asked for — via email — a compliance report from the FAA.
Jerry said the report came back within minutes. The primary punchlist item was an “air on ground” issue. So Jerry called Garmin for insight. Garmin advised Jerry to go back to the FAA and ask for more detail.
That “more detail” came back from the FAA in the form of the plane’s flight track overlaid on Google Earth. Exactly what Jerry was figuring he’d have to piece together is what the FAA dropped into his email inbox.
The green dots on the image indicate the equipment is properly broadcasting an airplane in flight mode. The red dots signify the airplane is improperly broadcasting flying status while on the ground, thus “air on ground.”
“We simply need to adjust a system setting so the equipment will properly transition the broadcast from ground to flight and back again,” said Jerry. “But overall, the validation reporting process has worked really well.”
The level of detail is staggering, if a little scary. The FAA supplied image included the plane’s N-number and continued recording red dots all the way to the owner’s hangar. (We’ve obviously edited the image.)
I’m not a conspiracy theorist — per se — but I do hope the FAA keeps this information locked down. Even better would be for the data to be anonymized upon validation. But that’s discussion for another column, I suppose.
If you are looking to equip for the 2020 mandate, the FAA’s $500 Rebate runs out after 20,000 rebates have been claimed. Time is ticking.
Is there a check off sheet for the flight portion of the FAA ADS-B test?
The flight profile is listed in Advisory circular # AC 20-165B. Starts on page 43 through 45.
Also, the AC mentions nothing about flying in any particular airspace. What it does say is that the flight must be conducted in ‘ADS-B coverage area’. This is virtually the entire U.S. I plan to conduct our test flight in Class E airspace no higher than 7,500′ msl. Will advise on results.
Ok, we failed. The equipment worked flawlessly, but they gigged us on airspace. They referenced 14 CFR 91.22 ie, Class B, class E above 10,000′ etc. I am challenging them on this as the Advisory Circular we used for guidance specifically states the flight can be in ANY airspace that has ADS-B coverage. I don’t expect to be successful, but I will feel better. I hate to think that the FAA is intentionally vague/misleading knowing that most people aren’t going to repeat the test flight due to cost vs the small return. Right.
Ever hear of FlightRadar24 or PlaneFinder.net?? Yeah…that’s just two of the bigger ones. Then there are the tens-of-housands of individuals who own ADS-B “dongles” who don’t broadcast. I REALLY hope no one actually had some sort of false expectation of privacy!!!
Take a look at ADSBexchange.com.
Ben,
Its my impression that the test data FAA provided in the example that you report is the same data that FAA will collect — and anyone with a proper receiver can also collect — every time an ADS-B/Out equipt aircraft is operated. If you’re uncomfortable with this level of federal government scrutiny on the test operation, how do you feel about the same level of federal government scrutiny of every flight every time you fly?
I hope you understand this data is publicly broadcasted and anyone can pickup that signal. They picked up that much detail on the ground because there is an ADS-B tower/equipment on or near the airport. It still requires good line of sight. Anyone can follow my flights. The UAT spec does allow an option for anonymous VFR 1200 squawk (via a random assignment of transponder hex code). If you are assigned a squawk, the transponder will resume transmitting your proper hex code. On 1090mhz Modes S Extender Squitter, there is not a spec for anonymous 1200 VFR. Your hex will always be transmitted (unless on standby, of course).