Aero-Tips!
A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you
heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no
truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception
of "there are no old, bold pilots.")
Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner,
master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us
-- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators. Some of them, you
may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be
something we might never have considered before, or something that
didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized
it for the practical test.
Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to
you through the Aero-News Network.
Aero-Tips 07.09.06
"See and avoid." It's the basis of traffic separation, the
primary way we avoid running into one another. Even pilots on
Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) clearances are responsible for
looking out the window to avoid other airplanes when flying in
visual conditions. However, new technologies are springing up to
supplement the Mark One Eyeball. One type is TIS -- the Traffic
Information System.
TIS uses Mode S transponder signals to locate nearby traffic on
a cockpit display. The system is dependent on ground-based
radar.
- Note: The TIS-capable radar recognizes
other Mode A, C or S signals, and only certain approach areas at
that. Outside of "TIS-capable approach control" airspace, TIS does
not display any traffic.
The TIS-capable radar recognizes other Mode S signals in the
airplane's area, and transmits a signal the airplane's equipment
translates into plots on a cockpit multifunction display (MFD) or
some brands of GPS.
- Note: Only transponder-equipped airplanes
are plotted on TIS systems.
Start 'em up... then shut 'em down?
Trouble is, the ground portion of TIS is expensive... apparently
much more than the FAA originally planned. The Aircraft Owners and
Pilots Association "air traffic services
brief"
on TIS provides this background:
In the mid-1990s, the FAA developed a datalink where Mode S
radar systems transmit traffic data to Mode S transponders. The
system was later dubbed TIS, and by 2002 the system was active on
many ASR 7 and ASR 8 Mode S radar sites. As part of the FAA's radar
system upgrade, the FAA ordered ASR 11s to replace older ASR 7/8.
Because the FAA failed to require TIS functionality, these new
systems do not have the TIS capability. The FAA originally proposed
to move these "old" radars to less busy terminal airspace areas,
meaning no TIS services would be lost. However, the FAA has now
abandoned this plan. It is AOPA's understanding that the
manufacturer of the ASR 11 can provide the upgrade to all ASR 11s
for $49 million.
GARMIN (producer of one brand of
TIS-compatible systems) posts a map that shows current TIS
sites, and those current sites that are scheduled to be
decommissioned.
Nothing will totally replace see-and-avoid in the fore"see"able
future, but technology like TIS makes it far easier to focus on
potential threats in areas where the service is available.
Aero-tip of the day: Don't relax your outside
visual scan, but use any available technology to help you see and
avoid other airplanes.