Originally Posted by
le Pingouin
That'd would
really be testing it
Not!
I think that is Dick's point though. How much testing do we really need? The aircraft technology is where the important certification has already taken place. All the ADS-B receiver is doing is detecting the aircraft transmission and then relaying it through a communication line. The receiver either picks up a signal or not, and if the micro-computer fails it fails so badly that nothing sensible come out of it-- the system either works or completely fails. In the initial certification you may want to check that it works properly so you may get ATC to query pilots for position reports, or perhaps test it in a radar environment and cross check it with the ADS-B output. You may even continue to operate it that way over a period of a year until you have confidence in the system before ceasing requirements for verbal position reports or turning off the radar. How much more testing is needed? Just stating a vague 'safety' concern like that is what causes costs to escalate exponentially.