AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2018 - 99

P&E

Leave a
Legacy
for General
Aviation

ADS-B

Case
studies
What do owners think about
their ADS-B?

The love of flying-and
the freedom it brings-is
a legacy worth passing on
to future generations. The
AOPA Foundation Legacy
Society is a group of the most
committed AOPA members
who are providing future gifts
through theirs wills, trusts,
retirement accounts or other
arrangements.

ADS-B EQUIPAGE requires only a fraction

of what Frank Ziegler installed in his
1966 Cessna T210. But he used the
opportunity to invest in other aircraft
systems, and his older airframe is
benefiting from new capabilities. (Photo
courtesy of Frank Ziegler)

BY MIKE COLLINS
AS OF MAY 1, 55,548 U.S. CIVILIAN AIRCRAFT

have equipped with Automatic Dependent
Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out. Of
that total, 40,368 are certificated, fixedwing general aviation aircraft. There are
18 months until January 1, 2020-the
date after which the FAA has mandated
installation of ADS-B Out to fly in airspace
where a transponder is required today.
ADS-B uses satellites instead of groundbased radar to determine aircraft location,
and is a key technology behind the FAA's
Next Generation Air Transportation System.
It's unclear how many aircraft must equip in
advance of the mandate, but many owners
have already done so. What do some of them
think about the equipment they've installed,
and what was the process like?
2005 AMERICAN CHAMPION SUPER
DECATHLON

As the avionics technical fellow for Bell,
Erik Oltheten of Fort Worth, Texas, took
a leading role in the helicopter manufacturer's commitment to meeting the ADS-B

mandate. "But talk is cheap when it's not
your money," he said. "When it came to my
personal aircraft, how could I approach
2020 and not be equipped?"
Oltheten owns a 2005 American
Champion Super Decathlon that he primarily flies locally, although he uses it for
the occasional cross-country, and keeps
at Parker County Airport in Weatherford,
Texas-just outside the Dallas-Fort Worth
Mode C veil. "I spent a long time looking
at ADS-B solutions before picking one," he
said. "You have to look at what works for
you, your aircraft, and your priorities."
First, if he had to spend that kind of
money, Oltheten wanted tangible benefits.
Surprised before by other aircraft, he definitely wanted ADS-B traffic. Second, he
wanted a display solution that would work in
the Decathlon's small cockpit. "My alreadyfull panel didn't allow for many options. I also
had to consider something robust enough for
the aerobatics I do," he said.
Oltheten first considered the L3 Lynx
NGT-9000 transponder, thinking he
www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 99

Including the AOPA Foundation
in your long-range plans can be
a simple, yet powerful, way to
make a truly significant impact
on general aviation.

To find out more about how
you can leave your legacy,
call 301.695.2320
or visit www.aopa.org/legacy.

301.695.2320
AOPALegacy@aopa.org

http://www.aopa.org/legacy http://www.aopa.org/pilot

AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2018