The FAA and Department of Transportation are expected to announce at dual press conferences on Monday that the agency will try to stimulate lagging ADS-B sales by offering owners who install systems a $500 cash rebate.
Details on the program weren’t available on Friday but sources familiar with it told AVweb that owners can install their system of choice then submit documentation to the FAA for the $500 rebate. Presumably, the offer applies to owners of private aircraft of all sizes, but we don’t yet know if the rebate offer will apply to owners who have already equipped. AVweb contacted the Aircraft Electronics Association, AOPA and EAA, but all declined comment, pending Monday’s announcement.
According to the FAA’s own records, about 18,000 ADS-B Out systems have been installed to date, with about 3 years until the 2020 mandate. The total ADS-B fleet equipage requirement is about 200,000 aircraft and both the FAA and the avionics industry have expressed open concern that owners aren’t equipping fast enough. We estimate the total size of the rebate program to be about $100 million against equipage costs for owners of more than $1 billion. ADS-B Out is a critical part of the FAA’s $6.5 billion NextGen air traffic system budget through 2018, with an estimated $40 billion total cost. AVweb will have more details on the story as they become available on Monday.
