Have they really approved the spending of the money?
ADSB, like GPS and the internet will go ahead and come into general use in the next few years. It will be unstoppable, like the internet was.
It is without doubt a very suitable system for Australia. But the idea has been accompanied by lots of vivid imagination; speculation and "pie in the sky"
As I understand it it will not give nation wide coverage, but will operate where the ground stations are installed, and this will no doubt be where the RPT services (in aircraft above 5700kg) go.
IFR aircraft wiil have a position readout, vfr aircraft will not.
Both will be visible to ASA on the screen. These things will have to have regular checks, like our transponders do.
ADSB will no doubt be required for entry into towered airspace, and probably ctaf(r)
ADSB will not give weather or terrain information, or approaches. In fact it will not give vfr pilots anything except the knowledge that ASA can see them on their screen (if they have got one, and somebody looking at it., and if the aircraft is within range of the ground station).
It is important that whatever is fitted to Australian aircraft is compatable with new equipment that will be supplied by the major electronics manufacturers. We do not want a "unique australian system" that results in new aircraft flying around in australia with unusable new equipment like we had with DME(A) For decades we had aircraft flying around with two DME systems fitted, one of which was unusable as there were no ground stations for it. The ground stations and the airbourne equipment we did use were supplied by just one company. This system went out of date, and we eventually went to the other one, like the rest of the world. We had to install new ground stations,
Our esteemed govt aviation bodies have sugested a subsidy to fit new ADSB to GA aircraft. This will cost someone about 130 million dollars, and no-one has yet come up with a concrete, definite offer, backed by money. I see nothing in the information quoted on prune, that even mentions GA aircraft, or where the money is coming from. I don't know of a definite committment from anyone to supply the money. If there is one, I believe it should be given favourable consideration, after reading the fine print.
Alice Springs has no radar. Will they have ADSB equipment in the tower? Or will they close the tower and control it from Brisbane?
There are lots of interesting possibilities,and there will no doubt be further developements too.
I believe we should look for systems that give pilots information they need, like terrain avoidance, weather etc that will work in remote areas where there are no ground aids. Also we need electronics that are either replaceable cheaply,or can be sent to a major centre for service, and then refitted by a pilot or LAME. Like portable units. Radio lame's may be 1000 km away from where the work is done.
The transponders have been a bloody nuisance, and no help to outback pilots. I hope tha airlines appreciate the effort that has been made.