Avionics
NextGen Fund Provides Low-interest Loans for NextGen Avionics
There is a way for general aviation aircraft owners to afford NextGen upgrades.

Chief NextGen officer and deputy FAA administrator Michael Whitaker is adamant in his message about ADS-B equipage: on Jan. 1, 2020 when the FAA’s ADS-B OUT mandate becomes effective, pilots who want to fly in Class A, B and C airspace and above 10,000 feet agl will need to be flying aircraft equipped with ADS-B OUT avionics. Some mandates are already in place in Asia and Australia and others are coming. Europe’s mandate is June 8, 2016 for new aircraft and June 7, 2020 forretrofit.

Avionics and aircraft manufacturers have been hard at work developing supplemental type certificates and service bulletins to accommodate the new equipment in older aircraft, and MROs are ramping up their avionics crews in anticipation of full schedules. Even so, aircraft owners surveyed by AIN are only just beginning to think about upgrading to meet the mandate.