Alaska's Capstone initiative to improve general aviation safety through the use of automatic dependent surveillance - broadcast (ADS-B) is awaiting a decision by the US Federal Aviation Administration on investment in the third phase of the programme.
Phase 3 involves a statewide ADS-B infrastructure, and is tied to FAA plans for national deployment of the surveillance technology.
Ground-based transceivers (GBT) have been installed at 25 sites and 400 aircraft equipped with ADS-B avionics under Capstone Phases 1 and 2. Statewide deployment would involve about 150 GBTs and require 5,500 aircraft to be equipped, says programme manager Sue Gardner.
An investment decision is expected this month. As well as installing ADS-B GBTs, Gardner says Phase 3 involves upgrading visual flight rules airports to instrument flight rules, with GPS-based precision approaches, and developing a route structure compatible with performance-based navigation.
Under Phases 1 and 2, an ADS-B infrastructure based on the UAT datalink has been deployed in the Yukon Yuskokwin delta area around Bethel and in south-east Alaska around Juneau. The FAA has paid for ADS-B avionics in almost 400 aircraft.
Under Phase 3, Gardner says, the plan is to continue rolling out UAT-only ground stations until the service provider selected by the FAA to provide the national ADS-B infrastructure is ready to deploy GBTs using the 1090ES datalink that will be used by airlines, along busy routes and at major airports.
The FAA will not pay for avionics equipage under Phase 3, and a coalition of Alaskan associations is working to raise $73 million.
Source: Flight International
