Doug, please clarify something. "No traffic unless you have Out." Does this apply to ANY stand alone IN receiver, be in FlightBox, XGPS190s, Garmin etc? I thought the point of these was to allow one to see both Traffic AND Weather on a tablet or phone. Otherwise, what's the point?
Wood, the reason many of us get exercised about ADS-B is because its being shoved down our throats. Its not the 2020 time line. Its the simple fact that once again, a government agency that none of us had any hand in electing, has decided to force us to buy something in the so called name of safety. You can crash 50,000 automobiles a year and nada. Nothing. That's ok. But one mid-air? The world comes to a standstill, politically speaking. Our "negative" impact on the planet and humanity is infinitesimally small in General Aviation. Yet we have to equip as if the lives of thousands ride on every flight. One wonders why the FAA, with their over reactionary ethos, doesn't just ground GA if they want "safe." That seems to be the end game. Simply price the average guy out of aviation until only the truly well heeled are left. Thing is, Life is not safe and when some of us grew up, that was accepted and understood. "Skate at your own Risk" didn't just have to do with skating rinks. It DEFINED freedom. Now days its a cloistered, coddled world where folks cannot even look cross eyed at something without being accused of all sorts of evil doings or thoughts. So to many of us, ADS-B is just one more example of the little guy getting stepped on by the Nanny State. I have no beef with people who have tons of cash who want to throw airline level toys into their tiny little sport planes. When its voluntary, have at it! While I might see no use in a $30,000 glass panel, my friend LOVES his, and that is how it should be. He didn't need any of that **** in a sport plane, but he loves that stuff and could afford it. Choice. The definition thereof. But to tell a guy with a clapped out C-150 that is worth, on a good day, $15,000, that he needs to put $5000 into a certified ADS-B system (new transponder, ADS-B, and Installation), well, that's just WRONG. The $500 rebate is a joke. ITs like saying ok, we screwed you out of a third of the value of your aircraft, so here is a free coffee to make it all better.
And THAT is why people get pissed or worked up about it. If I had a certified aircraft, I'd be gunning for blood right now. A guy with a ragged out electric equipped T-craft, living under Mode-C, has ZERO use for ADS-B, but he's still going to be forced to buy it. He's flown for 40 years with nary a mid-air, and now days, there are even LESS GA aircraft to dodge. But that doesn't mean a thing. I sometimes think we in the RV world forget our roots. "Experimental" used to be a means of making aviation affordable for the average person. Today? Most new builders are pretty well heeled and are putting more into their panel than most certified antique/classics COST in their entirety. So maybe ADS-B is not as big a deal for the average RV guy. But for many pilots, these costs are driving them to other endeavors. I won't even go into young people. Many WANT to fly, but look at the cost and regulations and think we are insane.
We experimental guys have it easier than the certified guys, but throwing cash away is not something we can all afford to do. Navworx is a great example. People said wait. Things will get cheaper. Really? So some of us didn't get it when it was $800. Or $900. Or $1179. It'll get cheaper by 2020 was the driving decider, oft repeated by friends everywhere. And yet its cost has steadily INCREASED yearly, not decreased, so if you wait, by 2020 it will probably be approx. $1800 instead of the $1400 it is today. And now the FAA is beating on the one company that made it reasonably affordable to have both IN and OUT in Certified and Experimental aircraft, using your existing equipment. And the likely result of this beating, will be, of course, to drive up the cost even more. Fun times, this.
LOL. Sorry guys. That's my rant for the day. I'd like to blame it on the lack of coffee, but to be honest, I actually had a cup while writing this!
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