Discussion ADS-B Transceiver, Drone Collision Avoidance
- Thread starter DroneTalk
- Start date
Stephen Mann
Member
ADSB is not the panacea that you would assume, for two reasons. First, ADSB-In is not mandated and most manned aircraft will not be able to detect potential traffic conflicts from ADSB-Out equipped aircraft. (ADSB-Out is mandated for all manned aircraft operating within 30-miles of Class B airspace in the US by year 2020). The second is that the primary beneficiary of ADSB is Air Traffic Control providing them with more precise and detailed information on all aircraft. But, ADSB is generally not reliable below 500 ft. This means that most drones below 400 ft and not near an ATC facility even with ADSB-Out on the drone, won't be seen by ATC.
Then there's the problem of registration. Every ADSB-Out transmits the aircraft tail number, and drones generally don't have a tail number.
However, almost useless as it is, adding a low-power transponder to the drone would be an indication of responsibility in the event of a crash. Though, even after millions of hours of flight there is not yet one verifiable report of a small drone collision with a manned aircraft. (There are anecdotal stories, but nothing in the FAA Accident and Incident database).
Then there's the problem of registration. Every ADSB-Out transmits the aircraft tail number, and drones generally don't have a tail number.
However, almost useless as it is, adding a low-power transponder to the drone would be an indication of responsibility in the event of a crash. Though, even after millions of hours of flight there is not yet one verifiable report of a small drone collision with a manned aircraft. (There are anecdotal stories, but nothing in the FAA Accident and Incident database).
Old Man
Active Member
I don't believe the ADS-B requirements currently differentiate between manned and unmanned aircraft. At this time I believe sUAS is included in the "all aircraft" mention.
Another issue arises with the use of any transponder. Testing performed in the Pacific Northwest established that extensive shielding of all MR electrical components would be required unless the transponder was suspended from a 20'-30' long cable under the MR. Transponder output signal swamps every frequency we currently use.
Next factor, there have been several collisions between manned and unmanned aircraft but none of them in a civilian airspace environment, yet. All have occurred in heavily controlled military airspace in foreign countries, with most at or near airports.
Edit: 107 does exclude sUAS from the ADS-B requirements.
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Another issue arises with the use of any transponder. Testing performed in the Pacific Northwest established that extensive shielding of all MR electrical components would be required unless the transponder was suspended from a 20'-30' long cable under the MR. Transponder output signal swamps every frequency we currently use.
Next factor, there have been several collisions between manned and unmanned aircraft but none of them in a civilian airspace environment, yet. All have occurred in heavily controlled military airspace in foreign countries, with most at or near airports.
Edit: 107 does exclude sUAS from the ADS-B requirements.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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