J. MAC MCCLELLAN
The FAA, I think, imagined that TIS-B,
the display of traffic around you, would be
the most appealing to GA pilots. And traffic
alerting is very important. But to get TIS-B
you need a fully qualified and certified
ADS-B “in” system, and that is expensive
when you add up the cost of all of the essen-
tial elements.
But to get the weather and other informa-
tion broadcast on FIS-B only takes a receiver.
And it can be a pretty simple and low-cost
receiver. Best of all, the government is paying
for the weather and other data on FIS-B, so
there is no subscription fee.
In the overall cost of flying, the $35 or
$50 a month subscription fee for satellite
weather service isn’t much. But it is one of
those issues that drives many pilots crazy.
Maybe it’s the open-ended nature of the
expense, or maybe if a pilot flies little in a
month but the bill still comes, that causes
the irritation. Or perhaps there are other
reasons I don’t understand. But the
unhappiness with satellite weather sub-
scription fees is real.
SPORT Y’S STRATUS WEATHER
I’m not sure exactly the sequence of events
and who did what first, but three companies
have teamed up to create Stratus, a very
impressive system to deliver free FIS-B
weather data to your cockpit. And like all
good collaborations, each of the three part-
ners contributes invaluable elements to the
success of the system.
AVIATION IS
IN OUR DNA
With a rich history in aviation see how
New Zealand companies work smarter
and faster.
Visit the New Zealand pavilion at site
406 during EAA AirVenture 2012; you’ll be
amazed at the practical innovation, aircraft,
engines and systems on display.
Aircraft Ground Handling Solutions NZ – Auroa
Helicopters – Aviation New Zealand – Classic Aero
Machining Service – Composite Helicopter Mfg – Duke
Engines – Falcomposite – Pacific Aerospace – TracMap.
