Avionics News May 2013 - 36

EQUIPPING FOR INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS
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VHF frequency congestion problem.” Beginning later this
year – Nov. 17, 2013, to be exact – “all new VHF radios
are required to be 8.33 kHz capable,” according to EUROCONTROL, which apparently is referring to equipment sold within its client countries.
It’s important for your customers to understand that,
for many modern communications radios, this capability
has been available for some time but must be enabled via
configuration choices. With some equipment, an avionics
shop must be used to enable this feature. With other avionics, the operator may be able to implement the change
by diving into the unit’s configuration-menu software.
Regardless, this is something the owner/operator will depend on shops to know and enable, if possible.
A final communications concern involves older
720-channel VHF radios. The current standard, of course,
is 760 channels, and let’s hope none of your customers
are still flogging 360-channel radios, capable of only 50
kHz spacing. According to Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular AC 90-50D, Requirements For
760 Channel VHF Radio For Aeronautical Operations,
the frequency band 136.000 to 136.975 MHz was reallocated to aeronautical services in the 1970s. Radios using
“the 118.000 through 136.975 MHz range with 25 kHz
channel spacing would provide the pilot with full communication services in the future.” Importantly, many
popular nav/comms – like the Bendix/King KX-155 and
-165 – came in both 720- and 760-channel versions. It’s
easy to check, but perhaps not so easy to upgrade the
units themselves.

Navigation
The Global Positioning System, by definition, is ubiquitous. GPS receivers can be used for en route navigation
anywhere in the world. According to EUROCONTROL,
for example, “VOR/DME, DME/DME and GPS...are
considered to be capable of meeting the requirements of
the enroute phase of operations.” Generally, then, a panel
mounting a GPS navigator plus VOR/ILS/DME receivers
should meet en route navigation requirements in EUROCONTROL airspace and elsewhere. But when considering terminal airspace and instrument approaches, GPS
alone may not be enough.
EUROCONTROL states precision RNAV, or P-RNAV,
capability – 1-nm accuracy – may be required by some
countries “for IFR operations in notified terminal airspace.” Generally, this means the increased accuracy is
necessary when complying with published arrival and
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departure procedures based on GPS. That resolution is
a common feature of modern GPS navigators. The real
question, of course, is whether or not a WAAS-enabled,
approach-approved GPS navigator can be used in EUROCONTROL countries and elsewhere. The answer is, as
always, “It depends.”
Generally, EUROCONTROL and other countries
haven’t implemented WAAS, the wide-area augmentation
system in use in the U.S. Instead, they may have embraced GBAS – the ground-based augmentation system
– an ICAO standard similar to the local-area augmentation system once envisioned for U.S. airspace. According
to EUROCONTROL, “GBAS programmes are ongoing
in more than 15 states worldwide, (and) over 30 stations
are installed in Russia.” Additional GBAS installations
have been planned as far away from EUROCONTROL
as Australia. Thus, a GPS navigator perfectly capable of
ILS-like performance in the U.S. may revert to nonprecision capability elsewhere in the world simply because the
WAAS standard isn’t implemented there.
While those technological advancements may mean
some features of the fancy hardware you just installed in
the customer’s airplane can’t be used overseas, removing other equipment may mean he or she can’t execute an
instrument approach at their destination. That’s because
nondirectional beacons – NDBs – remain in widespread
use for approaches throughout the world. In some instances, a published NDB approach may allow GPS to be
substituted, but that’s generally approved by each country’s aviation agency on a case-by-case, approach-byapproach basis. Some approach procedures may require a
dual ADF installation. Clearly, the operator should spend
some time reviewing the approaches he or she may execute to ensure the appropriate equipment is available.
A final word on overseas navigation, especially in the
terminal environment: Many capabilities will depend
on the GPS navigator’s installed database and available
charting. You may want to caution customers planning
extensive international operations to ensure their databases are both appropriate for the countries they plan to visit
and that current and compatible charts are available.

Surveillance
Even though one of the hottest topics in the global
avionics community is ADS-B, it’s currently not required
anywhere in the world. As presently planned, that will
change on Dec. 13, 2013, in Australia, when ADS-B Out
will be required for operations at and above FL290. That
doesn’t mean ADS-B Out equipment might not be a good
Continued on page 38

Avionics News May 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News May 2013