Regulations and Government
Industry awaits ARC report on changes to ADS-B plan
At a recent NextGen conference, Jim Linney of the FAA’s ADS-B office detailed the user community’s response to the invitation to comment on the agency’s no

At a recent NextGen conference, Jim Linney of the FAA’s ADS-B office detailed the user community’s response to the invitation to comment on the agency’s notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). Of the 1,372 responses to the document’s 85 separate issues, there were 101 positive comments, versus 1,271 negative–or “non-positive,” in FAA terminology–comments.

What did this tell the FAA? Essentially, it said that however wonderful new technology solutions may appear to their advocates, intended users are concerned primarily with the ratio of cost to benefits, and most of the users believe the agency’s ADS-B out equipage mandate will not produce a positive cost-benefit equation for general aviation or anyone else who flies below jet altitudes.