Avionics News June 2022 - 34

FREE SAFETY TOOLS
Continued from page 33
components. And the two services, FIS-B and TIS-B, are
free for the taking, with the equipped aircraft needing
one of the many available commercial receivers or by
building a capable receiver from electronic components.
The FAA provides the services, and pilots can avail
themselves of these safety tools. But like the old horse,
which you can lead to water but can't force to drink, the
FAA and avionics makers can't force the use of ADS-B In.
Now, more than two years after the FAA required
ADS-B Out for surveillance purposes, the question
becomes, " Do pilots use these two tools in their flying? "
This article isn't a study on par produced by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology's International
Center for Air Transportation Department of Aeronautics
and Astronautics. That report, titled " Pilot perception and
use of ADS-B traffic and weather services, " came out in
September 2014, years before the FAA's mandate kicked
in and well before ADS-B In became well-known and
highly popular.
The MIT report looked at ADS-B In capability and
how it provides pilots with traffic information for
nearby flights along with relevant weather and airspace
information. It was intended to evaluate potential
benefits of ADS-B In traffic and weather services.
Goals included identifying the factors that influence
the decision whether to equip with ADS-B In as well
as evaluating current pilot usage of traffic and flight
information uplink services.
According to the report, 1,407 pilots responded to an
online survey that was promoted through several general
aviation media outlets. Respondents were solicited
regardless of previous ADS-B experience.
In a sign of ADS-B In's appeal back in 2014, a
majority of respondents had used ADS-B In, with 56%
of respondents reporting having experience with either
an installed or portable system. Of the group who had
experience with ADS-B In, 85% used portable systems
and 30% used installed systems.
A perceived safety benefit from ADS-B In traffic
information was clearly apparent based on feedback from
several questions in the survey. Among pilots who use
ADS-B traffic on a regular basis, 42% of respondents
indicated that it had helped them avoid a midair
collision. The perceived usefulness of ADS-B traffic was
strongly dependent on equipage with ADS-B Out.
A full 51% of respondents with both ADS-B In and
34 avionics news * june 2022
ADS-B Out reported that ADS-B traffic had helped
them avoid a midair collision, while only 19% of
respondents without ADS-B Out agreed. This, along
with other responses, suggested a safety benefit from
improved traffic avoidance for respondents who also
fly with ADS-B Out installed in their aircraft. While
there was an apparent safety benefit from ADS-B In
traffic information for all respondents, limitations in
coverage area was an issue for many pilots who were not
equipped with ADS-B Out.
Although nearly 8 years old, the MIT survey data
tracks well with the casual polling of pilots who flew to
the 2022 Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo in late March and
early April. It was clear from conversations with ADS-B
Out users that ADS-B In provided tools they used.
Tools worth more than their costs
For many years, pilots remained somewhat bitter
about " being forced " into the ADS-B world by the
FAA's mandate, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2020.
Their common complaint: the costs of ADS-B Out.
For pilots who adapted to the new surveillance
technology before being forced by the mandate,
installing a system that covered both sides of the
ADS-B coin, the services available with ADS-B In was
a welcome surprise. As put by one pilot - a retired U.S.
Air Force pilot - his avionics shop worked hard to get
him into a system with Out and In built in.
" The weather feed I was using required a subscription
- monthly - and ran constantly in the background of my
primary flight display, " he said. " But I had no traffic
info except for PIREPs and info from Flight Service
stations. ADS-B In freed me to drop my subscription
weather service and freed me from the thousands I faced
spending if I want live traffic on the PFD. "
The retired officer only " vaguely " knew of ADS-B
In's tools before his avionics shop steered him toward
an ADS-B solution covering both Out and In, for his
complex, high-performance single.
" I wasn't wild about having to spend significant funds
to meet the Out mandate but learning that I could get
ADS-B In in the same box helped ease my ire, " he said
during lunch at a Sun 'n Fun picnic table on the show
grounds earlier this year. " It helped that the system we
chose could wirelessly transmit the images of In to my
tablet computer. "
That made it more feasible to finance the upgrades,
and In was already part of his Out choice. After flying
a couple of months to learn how to use his new ADS-B
Avionics News June 2022

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