FAA certifies UPS ADS-B for transport aircraft

FAA granted UPS Aviation Technologies (Salem, OR) approval to begin producing and selling its Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system for air transport aircraft. UPS Airlines will install the systems in its fleet of more than 230 aircraft over the next two years.

The UPS ADS-B system uses a cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI) that provides pilots with a precise view of other equipped traffic - position, direction, speed, and identity - in the air and on the ground. The unit also provides an aural and visual alert when there is a potential for conflict with other equipped traffic and has a graphical range monitor designed to help pilots maintain precise spacing when following other equipped aircraft.

Major components include the CDTI, which mounts in the cockpit, a link and display-processing unit (LDPU) that contains the system's computer hardware, datalink equipment, and a dedicated GPS receiver. The LDPU communicates digital position messages and other information to an advanced Mode S Transponder for broadcast as an extended digital message.

The system uses two datalinks independently or in tandem: a Mode S, 1090 MHz datalink and the Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) datalink, developed by Mitre CAASD, currently being demonstrated in FAA's Alaska Capstone program.

UPS Aviation also has developed a prototype moving map of the airport surface that combines conventional GPS and ADS-B technologies to provide pilots with a view of their aircraft's position relative to airport runways, taxiways, and other traffic. And early next year, the company hopes to certify a new GPS receiver for ADS-B that uses Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) data for improved positional accuracy, such as alerting the pilot when a runway is occupied by an aircraft or ground vehicle.

Edited by David Robb
Managing Editor, AerospaceOnline.com