I do find it somewhat amusing that ADSB was to be the be-all-end-all solution. There was a mad rush to implement it and mandate it and the push for manufacturers to hit the market with low cost ADSB-out devices, with everyone thinking that ATC would magically guide us all to a safe flight.
Now after the first mid-air tragedy, all of a sudden everyone realises that OUT is useless without IN and that ADSB-in devices are next big thing.
The issue is the lack of devices available to fit into the fleet. It’s great to have one of the two EFB’s, however you still need an ADSB-in device and that’s not simple. So we go and fit a $10,000 certified out solution and have to buy a $900 Skyecho and IPad to receive traffic to save our own butt as ATC can’t do it for us.
There are some units that will hook into the EFB’s without having to buy more kit, but they aren’t cheap. Dynon have a good ASDB-in solution, however that requires a lot of costly components and isn’t going to work for your average flying school.
While I do agree mostly, ADSB out was really just a cheaper way to get far more effective RADAR coverage, it only has the same effect as primary RADAR with transponders. What is being proven more and more is the problems with our current philosophy behind air traffic management. No point having all this coverage if one guy is monitoring 100 aircraft at once, and when he tries to highlight conflicts is in with a mash of 20 others making various calls because sectors are too large. No one is willing to look at that elephant as they have spent so much cash trying to downsize and save cash and now wont admit it's below safe levels.
The key to remember is that even with all the bells and whistles the other aircraft may not be fitted with or have a defect preventing its use or the system just switched off. That then makes them invisible to all other units. So even the best ACAS now still has large holes that really mean its a fallback system after your eyes and ears have done their job out the windscreen and on the radio. A recent midair in the US between seaplanes highlighted this when one aircraft had its ACAS switched off and they collided.
A good ACAS will tell you when something is too close highlighting the conflict. So it's not just about visual clutter, however the visuals do give you a heads up as to whats around before you get there.
There are so many other things that highlight how archaic our air traffic systems are, and how overwhelmed they have become. Simple weather or single runway usage sends RPT traffic into meltdown with hours of delays, the system can only cope with one emergency at once, there's normal ops, and then there is chaos it seems. One aircraft blocks 20 miles around it, and I can't sight report clear traffic in VMC above 10,000, even when its clearly passed by and heading away. Not allowed to track direct because an aircraft is holding about 30 miles from the new track, which is only 5 miles from the old track, and so on. And don't even get started with noise abatement etc people complaining when they live in a city anyway and probably next to a highway or trainline.