ADS-B

[mosky]

Just looking for feedback and thoughts on installing ADS-B in my airplane. I know Canada is decades away (if ever) from having this except for in the far north but does anyone use it when flying either south of or adjacent to the border? Looking at the coverage maps and it looks like there is pretty good low level coverage all along the Canada/US border. An experimental airplane can be equipped for around $1,400 and with that you'd have access to the FIS-B data stream giving you METARS, SIGMETS, TAFs NOTAMS and a whole range of 'live' information including NEXRAD.
Any user experiences or thoughts would be appreciated.

[Tips Up]

Just looking for feedback and thoughts on installing ADS-B in my airplane. I know Canada is decades away (if ever) from having this except for in the far north but does anyone use it when flying either south of or adjacent to the border? Looking at the coverage maps and it looks like there is pretty good low level coverage all along the Canada/US border. An experimental airplane can be equipped for around $1,400 and with that you'd have access to the FIS-B data stream giving you METARS, SIGMETS, TAFs NOTAMS and a whole range of 'live' information including NEXRAD.
Any user experiences or thoughts would be appreciated.

Not as far away as you think for Canada. NavCanada and the FAA just finished a test phase of Aireon‘s space based ADS-B system in Jan. They expect to be fully positioned mid 2018 and this is the route NavCanada is going for ADSB coverage across Canada. It means that if you are installing an adsb system now, you need to be sure it runs on both 978(US version) and 1090ES to utilize both the ground based system in the US and the spaced based one which will be global. Also means a top and bottom mount attenane to use both systems. Just some thoughts if installing. I have been very happy with the lynx system.

[milotron]

Do you know when or if Canada will require this?

[Tips Up]

Jan 1/2020 to fly into the US. I have heard rumour of 2023 for Canada in the SDA just poking around online but nothing official that I have come across.

[milotron]

Do you know any other transponders supporting diversity aside from the Lynx? I know there was a Garmin 330DES that has this option, but not seen many or any others. Lynx is very nice, but also very expensive for features that we can't receive in Canada.

[mosky]

Interesting information.
Would be nice to see the system in Canada in what looks like the near future.

Looked at Aireon's site and could not see where they showed that they would be providing the FIS-B with their traffic information.
Is the Nav Canada/Aireon satellite based system just going to be the ATC and traffic information without all the add on information goodies (Weather, Weather radar, etc.) in the American system?

[Tips Up]

So far all that has been announced is surveillance only but I suppose weather info wouldn’t be that much of a jump after. Currently I use a US XM aviator subscription on ForeFlight which works pretty well. Gives radar for most of the southern areas plus some other goodies and updated METARS across Canada.

[dpm]

The Garmin GTX 345 uses 1090 MHz out (which will work in Canada as well as the US), and supports both 1090 MHz and 978 MHz UAT in, so that you can get all the goodies in the US.

Flying around Ottawa, I don't pick up FIS-B from the US until I'm at a good altitude, but I do get a good number of air-to-air traffic targets. Many of them are airliners up high, but a occasionally I've seen a target first via ADS-B and then looked out my window and seen it. Since so many Canadians fly their planes to the US, I expect that a lot more will be ADS-B equipped by 2020, so we'll be getting some good air-to-air benefit even without the US ground-station support.

[Tips Up]

The Garmin GTX 345 uses 1090 MHz out (which will work in Canada as well as the US), and supports both 1090 MHz and 978 MHz UAT in, so that you can get all the goodies in the US.

Flying around Ottawa, I don't pick up FIS-B from the US until I'm at a good altitude, but I do get a good number of air-to-air traffic targets. Many of them are airliners up high, but a occasionally I've seen a target first via ADS-B and then looked out my window and seen it. Since so many Canadians fly their planes to the US, I expect that a lot more will be ADS-B equipped by 2020, so we'll be getting some good air-to-air benefit even without the US ground-station support.

That’s true. The one thing I liked about the lynx system was the active traffic surveillance. From my understanding, you can get active traffic surveillance with garmin but it was a much bulkier install. As long as there is any transponder signal, regardless of adsb, it picks it up. Helps see all the 152s and 172s bombing around me before I often see them....

[linecrew]

There is currently an Aeronautical Study in progress at Nav Canada for ADS-B out mandate. No timelines but it's definitely a work in progress.

http://www.navcanada.ca/EN/products-and ... ate-EN.pdf

[jspitfire]

We have a portable unit for the Kingair. Suction mount it to the side window when in the US and it pairs to foreflight on the ipads. Amazing wealth of info.

[AirFrame]

Is the Nav Canada/Aireon satellite based system just going to be the ATC and traffic information without all the add on information goodies (Weather, Weather radar, etc.) in the American system?

Currently, yes. There are no plans yet to offer any other "goodies". For compatibility with the US system, that information would broadcast on 978MHz, and the satellites aren't equipped with that. So Canada would need a network of ground stations broadcasting weather/notams/etc. like the US has. NavCanada would also charge for it, unlike the US.