AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2011 - 103

The growing popularity of aerial traffic warning systems and their safety benefits have convinced avionics manufacturers to develop products that incorporate the best of existing systems, and comply with rules that will govern ADS-B in the future. Avidyne, Garmin, and L-3 Avionics, for example, have developed full product lines for piston and turbine airplanes as well as helicopters that can synthesize information from ground-based radar, other transponder-equipped aircraft, and ADS-B to provide an easy-to-understand traffic picture of surrounding aircraft. Avidyne purchased traffic and weather system innovator Ryan International in 2005 to help develop these technologies; Garmin was the first to offer units made to comply with evolving NextGen specifications, and L-3 has modified its pioneering SkyWatch system to cover a broad spectrum of GA aircraft. Avidyne’s TAS600 series, Garmin’s GTS 800 series, and L-3’s SkyWatch are designed to reliably show traffic now, during the ADS-B transition, and well into the future. These products range widely in price, power, and capability and are meant for GA aircraft from piston singles to helicopters and business jets. Some active systems require two antennas per aircraft to see both traffic above and below, and they’re larger, more complex, and more costly than passive systems. Avidyne’s 600 series starts at about $8,500 for single-engine piston airplanes that fly below 18,500 feet, and the company is offering ADS-B upgrades for an additional $2,000 per unit. Avidyne’s traffic products expand in capability and cost up to $21,000 for fast-moving jets that fly all the way up to 55,000 feet. Garmin’s GTS 800 products range in price from about $10,000 to $24,000, and they offer a similar range of features and capabilities as well as NextGen compatibility. Impressive benefits Given the relative rarity of midair collisions (about one a month in the United States, and 48 reported near-misses), it may seem surprising that traffic warning systems are becoming regarded as essential equipment. But most pilots have been surprised at some time or another to find another aircraft flying closer than they expected. And it seems that ATC is constantly alerting us to other airplanes that we just don’t see, even when they’re flying close by, in good weather, and we know where to look for them. A study of collision avoidance systems determined that pilots flying in clear
AOPA PILOT • 103 • FEBRUARY 2011

weather visually identify other aircraft 86 percent of the time when a traffic system (or ATC) points out its relative position. Pilots’ ability to spot traffic falls to 56 percent without distance and azimuth callouts. Once pilots realize how much traffic is out there that they don’t see, they quickly come to rely on electronic tools meant to help keep them apart. Traffic warnings are a major attribute of the NextGen system—and there’s little doubt that a satellite-based network can provide better coverage, especially in remote locations, than radar does now. But as more pilots see for themselves the

benefits of the traffic systems available today, they realize that even imperfect systems offer impressive benefits. “Pilots who have flown with traffic systems come to trust them and don’t want to fly without them,” said Tom Harper, marketing director for Avidyne, which has sold more than 10,000 traffic avoidance systems for GA aircraft. “They quickly become believers. They want that extra set of electronic eyes looking out for them.” E-mail the author at dave.hirschman@ aopa.org.

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2011

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