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ADS-B and air traffic surveillance

Radar, Mode S, multilateration and ADS-B: message quality, mandates, space-based surveillance and transponder maintenance under FAA, EU and ICAO rules

By Aerospace Garage Desk · Practitioner · 50 minutes · 24 narrated pages

What you will be able to do

  • ✓ Explain how primary and secondary radar, Mode A, Mode C and Mode S, multilateration and ADS-B each build the surveillance picture, and compare their update rates.
  • ✓ Describe ADS-B Out on 1090ES and UAT, ADS-B In services and the limits of cockpit traffic displays.
  • ✓ Interpret ADS-B message content and the NACp, NIC, SIL and SDA quality indicators against the US rule values.
  • ✓ Apply the US, European and other regional surveillance mandates, including dispatch with ADS-B Out inoperative.
  • ✓ Recognise integrity, interference and configuration risks, using the official findings on the 2019 George Inlet mid-air collision.
  • ✓ Plan transponder and ADS-B checks, verify 24-bit addresses and flight IDs, and diagnose address errors.

Course content

Session 1 · How air traffic surveillance works

1.1

  1. Seeing aircraft: primary and secondary radar · free preview
  2. Mode A and Mode C: codes and altitude
  3. Mode S: one address per aircraft
  4. Worked example: how old is the picture?
Session 2 · Multilateration and ADS-B

1.2

  1. Multilateration: positions from timing
  2. ADS-B Out: 1090 extended squitter and UAT
  3. ADS-B In and the cockpit traffic picture
  4. Worked example: finding a target from time differences
Session 3 · What ADS-B says and how far to trust it

1.3

  1. Inside an ADS-B message
  2. NACp, NIC, SIL and SDA in plain words
  3. The position source: GNSS, prediction and interference
  4. Worked example: checking NACp and NIC against the rule
Session 4 · Mandates: who must broadcast, where and when

1.4

  1. The United States rule
  2. Europe: Mode S and ADS-B requirements
  3. Asia-Pacific, the Gulf and beyond
  4. Worked example: dispatch with ADS-B Out inoperative
Session 5 · Beyond the radar horizon, and when the picture fails

1.5

  1. Space-based ADS-B
  2. ADS-C and CPDLC in brief
  3. Integrity, interference and spoofing awareness
  4. From the investigation file: the George Inlet mid-air collision
Session 6 · Keeping transponders and ADS-B healthy

1.6

  1. The 24-month transponder check
  2. The 24-bit address and the flight ID
  3. Monitoring, common faults and human factors
  4. Worked example: diagnosing a Mode S address error

Who this course is for

Upskill courses are for professional development and are not approved by any aviation authority. Learner Terms

Course content © Aerospace Garage Limited. All rights reserved.