The ADS-B Deadline Will Not Change
For several years now, Duncan Aviation has been encouraging its customers to upgrade to ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast). We’re aware that as the FAA’s ADS-B mandate deadline—January 1, 2020—draws nearer, there will be a critical shortage of hangar space at qualified shops, not to mention a shortage of skilled avionics technicians who can perform and install the upgrades.
Among the information we’ve shared with our customers is a list of excuses we’ve heard for waiting on performing the upgrades:
- #1 There’s plenty of time
- #2 The deadline will be extended
- #3 The prices will drop
- #4 We’re going to sell our aircraft anyway
Several months ago, we countered every argument on our ADS-B web site (www.duncanaviation.aero/adsb). In light of remarks made at the Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-In & Expo in Lakeland, Florida, in April 2017 by an FAA spokesperson, we’d like to revisit #2.
At the Linder Regional Airport, the FAA’s Acting Deputy Administrator, Victoria Wassmer, reiterated that the mandate deadline for ADS-B is firm, and she didn’t mince words!
“I’m going to say this as plainly as I can: The ADS-B equipage deadline is not changing,” says Wassmer. “If you plan to fly your plane in most controlled airspace after December 31, 2019, you’re going to need to install ADS-B.”
We at Duncan Aviation can confirm that we’ve seen an uptick in installation activity so far in 2017. Duncan Aviation and its 27 Satellite Shops and workaway stations completed 47 ADS-B installations in Q1, and we have an additional 55 scheduled for the second quarter. As a result of the recent comments by Ms. Wassmer, Duncan Aviation has seen an uptick in the number of ADS-B upgrades scheduled for the third and fourth quarters of 2017, and we have customers who are scheduling for 2018 and 2019 now, too.
In an effort to accommodate our customers who are planning to upgrade to ADS-B in the next couple of years, Duncan Aviation has set up a slot program. Customers may buy a slot to reserve a confirmed date, hangar space, and qualified technicians for their aircraft at one of the Duncan Aviation Satellite Shops, which are located at the busiest airports throughout the United States.
Contact the Duncan Aviation Satellite Shop nearest you (www.duncanaviation.aero/locations/#satellites), one of our Duncan Aviation Avionics Installation Team members (www.DuncanAviation.aero/services/avionics-installation/contacts), or Regional Avionics Sales Manager Mark Francetic (Mark.Francetic@DuncanAviation.com or
+1-702.303.4888) or call +1 402.475.2611 for more information about ADS-B upgrades and the slot reservation program.
Duncan Aviation would also like to remind our world-wide customers that after midnight on January 1, 2020, their aircraft must have functioning ADS-B equipment if they intend to fly in United-States airspace. The FAA’s ADS-B mandate deadline is several months earlier than the EASA deadline.
