Big News -- WAAS GPS is Operational for IFR

"Scott Moore" wrote in message
...
Tarver Engineering wrote:


"For the near future, the "gold standard" for approach guidance remains
an
instrument landing system (ILS). Ultimately though, in perhaps a
decade's
time, WAAS has the potential to offer ILS-quality information to pilots
in a
typical four-seat single-engine GA aircraft."

That will be right around the time L5 becomes available and WAAS is
obsolete.

If they use it to lower mins at ILS airports, perhaps. If they use it to
lower
the typical 800 mins on nonprecision GPS approaches, thats a different
story.

I am pleased FAA finally made a drop, but it is doubtful WAAS was necessary
to the change. A 3dB inprovement in accuracy is not enough to justify the
cost.

I don't have a dog in this fight, but it seems to me that if WAAS is a
boondoggle,
so is LAAS. So that's gonna take longer, too.

WAAS is so much cheaper that you could have CAT IIIb everywhere for what has
alredy been spent on WAAS.