In December 2016, Duncan Aviation began a concerted campaign to educate business aircraft owners/operators about the anticipated crunch the industry will experience as the Jan. 1, 2020, ADS-B Out mandate draws closer. At the time, Duncan Aviation estimated that more than 2,000 business aircraft could be grounded for non-compliance. The company’s data analytics team recently developed even more accurate methods for determining the number of aircraft in compliance, and the results paint an even more urgent picture for operators who still need to comply with ADS-B.
Using data from its proprietary customer database, the FAA and other industry sources, Duncan Aviation’s researchers discovered that as of March 31, 2017, roughly 73% of the business jets registered in the United States have not yet complied with the mandate. That means that a little over 10,000 business jets do not yet have ADS-B Out capability.
“At the current rate of ADS-B adoption, about 4,760 aircraft will still need ADS-B when the mandate goes into effect,” says Mark Cote, Duncan Aviation’s Vice President of Duncan Aviation’s Parts Sales, Avionics and Satellites. “Those aircraft, for all intents and purposes, will be grounded. For the entire fleet to be ADS-B compliant, 320 aircraft need to be updated every month from now until the mandate goes into effect.”
That is more than twice the number currently being upgraded on a monthly basis, and a source of big concern for Cote. “The FAA has stated several times that the mandate deadline will not change. With limited labor and hangar capacity, operators need to plan ahead to ensure their business aircraft will be able to continue to meet its mission and company needs.”
With 27 Avionics Satellite Shops and workaway stations located at busy airports around the United States, Duncan Aviation is in a unique position to perform Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) upgrades for its business aviation customers ahead of the FAA’s midnight deadline on December 31, 2019.
Duncan Aviation has the capacity and labor resources at the moment, and the company has developed a slot program that helps customers who may not be ready to upgrade immediately but want guaranteed hangar space and labor resources in the coming year. The program allocates two spots per Satellite Shop per month for ADS-B upgrades. This program holds a confirmed date, labor and hangar space for one aircraft, and owner/operators can call now to reserve the spots for 2018 and 2019 and through the rest of 2017, where space is available.
“We’ve touched dozens of aircraft in the past few months, including Challenger 300s, G-150s, Citation 560XLs, a Pilatus PC-12, Falcon 900EXes, a couple of Challenger 601s, and a couple of G-200s; our techs have demonstrated experience with ADS-B installations,” says Matt Nelson, Manager of Satellite Operations. “We’re proud of the way our avionics installation teams have stepped up and of the work and dedication of our avionics bench in Lincoln, Nebraska.”
Outside of Rockwell Collins, the manufacturer of TDR-94/TDR-94D transponder units, Duncan Aviation is the only service provider authorized to perform ADS-B upgrades on the TDR-94/TDR-94D units to bring them into compliance with the mandate. Duncan Aviation offers a one-day turn for these units and has multiple shifts and benches to work them. For more information, visit www.DuncanAviation.aero/tdr-94.
Duncan Aviation also has ACSS NXT-700 transponders in stock. The ACSS NXT-700 Mode S transponder can help many legacy aircraft operators meet the mandate. Duncan Aviation can perform NXT-700 installations on more than 50 different aircraft. For more information, visit www.DuncanAviation.aero/services/avionics-installation/nxt-700.
Contact a Satellite Avionics Shop to reserve a slot (www.duncanaviation.aero/locations/#satellites) or call Duncan Aviation (+1 402.475.2611) or Regional Avionics Sales Manager Mark Francetic (702.303.4888) for more information. You may also visit Duncan Aviation’s ADS-B page at www.DuncanAviation.aero/adsb.
