Spotting Traffic

Andrew Gideon wrote:

Where did AC write that TIS will be around for a while? It seems like the
Next Big Thing for traffic is ADS-B.

The article was titled, "Airborne Traffic Alerting: TIS Still the One to
Beat," and a sidebar titled, "Why TIS is Still a Good Bet." These articles
were in the November 2005 (volume 35, Number 11) issue of _Aviation
Consumer_.

Send me a working email address for a return gift in the form of some
random words that, if viewed under certain lighting conditions,
approximately resemble these articles, if you are interested.

pjricc @ gmail . com

--
Peter

On Wed, 31 May 2006 15:31:36 -0400, Peter R. wrote:

The article was titled, "Airborne Traffic Alerting: TIS Still the One to
Beat," and a sidebar titled, "Why TIS is Still a Good Bet." These
articles were in the November 2005 (volume 35, Number 11) issue of
_Aviation Consumer_.

Thanks. I found it:

http://www.aviationconsumer.com/issu...rt/5496-1.html

First, this mentions that ADS-B is far from deployment. But that's not
quite true, at least around here. We're located in northern NJ, which is
right at the northernmost tip of ADS-B deployment on the East Coast. So
we'd see *some* benefit from ADS-B pretty quickly.

However, there are other interesting points. There's a paragraph which
suggests, for example, that some TIS units will be "field upgradable" to
"be useable in the ADS-B traffic world". What might that mean?

The sidebar at:

http://www.aviationconsumer.com/news.../35-11-Why.pdf

discusses my concern regarding TIS: that it is a short-term solution to be
replaced by ADS-B. However, a check of:

http://www.aviationconsumer.com/news.../35-8-Mode.pdf

shows that none of the 23 airports to lose TIS in the short term are in my
immediate neighborhood (though some are w/in just a few hours flight).

Hmm.

- Andrew

Andrew Gideon wrote:

snip
discusses my concern regarding TIS: that it is a short-term solution to be
replaced by ADS-B. However, a check of:

http://www.aviationconsumer.com/news.../35-8-Mode.pdf

shows that none of the 23 airports to lose TIS in the short term are in my
immediate neighborhood (though some are w/in just a few hours flight).

Hmm.

As someone who flies a lot in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic US, I am very
happy with what TIS is currently providing me.

--
Peter

On Thu, 01 Jun 2006 15:07:37 -0400, Peter R. wrote:

As someone who flies a lot in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic US, I am very
happy with what TIS is currently providing me.

That's not really in question. The issue is whether or not it is a good
investment given a working mode C transponder.

[If I had to replace a transponder, this would be easier grin.]

- Andrew

Andrew Gideon wrote:

That's not really in question. The issue is whether or not it is a good
investment given a working mode C transponder.

Yes, I realized after I sent up the post that you were more interested in
the future of TIS, rather than the present. Sorry 'bout that.


--
Peter

On Mon, 05 Jun 2006 13:00:25 -0400, Peter R. wrote:

Andrew Gideon wrote:

That's not really in question. The issue is whether or not it is a good
investment given a working mode C transponder.

Yes, I realized after I sent up the post that you were more interested in
the future of TIS, rather than the present. Sorry 'bout that.

No worries. I (1) wanted to be clear that we're not in disagreement, and
(2) am still hoping for more insight into this.

It's not just about the future of TIS, though of course that is a factor.
But it is also a matter of the value of the investment in TIS even given a
limited lifespan.

I could reason, for example: one midair can ruin your whole day. Since
coverage for TIS is better *today* than ADS-B's TIS-B, and will remain so
for at least a while, a few thousand dollars is worth investing in this
dead end technology.

On the other hand, there's the "we've gotten along with those fancy gizmos
for years" reasoning.

On yet a third hand: Not everyone has "gotten along", as NTSB reports
clearly show.

Still, how far can one take that reasoning before flying itself becomes
and unacceptable risk?

- Andrew