Big News -- WAAS GPS is Operational for IFR

Richard Kaplan wrote:
I highly doubt GPS will ever be the only form of navigation available to
pilots -- perhaps they will go with the AOPA plan which is to decommission
only VORs unassociated with instrument approaches.

Are there any? I can't think of a VOR which isn't somehow part of an
instrument approach. Even if not the primary navaid, then some
essential fix along the approach.

Even if the plan is to make GPS the only show in town, this would probably
take 10 to 20 years to accomplish -- could you imagine requiring an IFR
approach GPS in any plane flown IFR?

Yes, absolutely. It's just a single-frequency receiver with a
computer attached to it. Computers are cheap. Given what I can buy a
12-channel handheld GPS for at any camping or boating store, I would
guess the radio part is pretty cheap too. We already require COM
trancievers and transponders. From the point of view of fundamental
construction complexity, it seems likely an approach GPS should be
cheaper to build than either of those. Just a matter of amortizing
the design and certification cost over enough units sold :-)