Most of the Eastern Seaboard as far north as New Jersey now has
virtually seamless automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast service (ADS-B -- a system that automatically and precisely reports an
equipped aircraft's position, identity and velocity twice each second) thanks
to a nudge from AOPA.
The last gap was filled when the
Pennsylvania Department of Aviation agreed to partner with the FAA to set up
ground stations at four airports in the state. Now, ADS-B equipped aircraft can
pick up continuous traffic and weather information en route from Florida to New
Jersey. AOPA says it gave Pennsylvania officials a demonstration of the
technology in 2004 and that helped them decide to implement it.
The FAA has committed to installing
ADS-B nationwide but it has a ways to go. Beyond the Eastern Seaboard, the
technology exists in pockets of Ohio, central Tennessee, Wisconsin, North
Dakota, central Arizona and most of Oregon. The technology will eventually
replace the existing radar system and may allow aircraft some level of
independent traffic control (or awareness) but not until all aircraft are equipped
with the transponders that make it work.