Flight Service Stations in Alaska now have an extra tool they can use to help track some aircraft that request flight-following services. FAA personnel will have access to a Web site from a private vendor that tracks the airplanes via satellites and displays their track on a map of the region. Tony Wylie, manager of the Alaska Flight Services Information Area Group, said staff won’t actually monitor the flights, but will have immediate access to the information if the flight needs search and rescue. The FAA service will be extended only to aircraft operated by the federal government. It costs about $5,000 to equip each airplane with the “automated flight following” gear, which transmits the aircraft’s location, speed, heading and altitude to a satellite. Vendors charge about $20 per hour for the monitoring service. “The Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior have been using it up here for a few years,” said Wylie. “They’ve got a lot of their Forest Service firefighter aircraft equipped, and track where those guys are.” So far, expansion of the service to privately operated aircraft has not been determined, the FAA says.
Automated Flight Following Now In Alaska
Key Takeaways:
- Alaska Flight Service Stations (FSS) now utilize a private vendor's satellite tracking system to access real-time flight data for federal government aircraft.
- This "automated flight following" system transmits an aircraft's location, speed, heading, and altitude, primarily to aid search and rescue efforts.
- Each aircraft requires approximately $5,000 for equipping the gear, with an additional vendor charge of about $20 per hour for monitoring.
- The service is currently limited to federal government aircraft, with no decision yet on its expansion to privately operated planes.
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