John Collins, a pilot based in Charlotte, N.C., has submitted a petition to the FAA “to eliminate the ADS-B equipage requirement for aircraft certified with an electrical system to operate within the mode-C veil, while below 10,000 feet msl as long as they remain clear of all Class B and C airspace.” The FAA mandate for aircraft to meet the ADS-B out equipage requirement takes effect after midnight on Dec. 31, 2019, and generally applies to airspace where a transponder is currently required. Aircraft certified without an electrical system, gliders and balloons are exempt.
The benefit of this change to the ADS-B rules would encourage owners of lower-cost aircraft flown for recreation to keep flying, instead of balancing the cost of ADS-B equipage against no longer flying. “This rule change will eliminate the unnecessary financial burden to the owner and the community and not adversely impact safety or access to these valuable airports,” Collins wrote. “There is no corresponding benefit to the system to balance the harm to grassroots general aviation by the 2020 mandate with the current restriction mandating equipage within the mode-C veil.”
