Well folks, I think the outsourcing of flight service was only the first
of many short-sighted and irresponsible actions to hit General Aviation
that are a direct result of the FAA's inability to manage its costs.

If what I've read is true, the FAA will soon begin decommissioning TIS
transmitter sites (22 to be exact) -- the very sites that those of us
with the GTX330 Mode-S transponder depend on to receive traffic
information at reasonable cost.

If I didn't know better, I'd say that L3 has some low friends in high
places, since they're pretty much the only people that will benefit from
the decommissioning of TIS in the foreseeable future.

For your reference:

http://www.avionicswest.com/archive/330MFD.htm

We had to buy a new transponder last year, and we didn't feel it prudent
to invest $17K in a Skywatch for a little 172, so the GTX330 seemed like
the best choice to get traffic data into the cockpit at the time. I
believe we spent about $2500 extra for the GTX330 and the wiring to our
GNS430, and I'll tell ya -- without TIS, I view this as $2500 down the
crapper. And I can't be the only one who feels this way.

I'd long known about ADS-B and the FAA's plans to replace TIS with TIS-B
(accessible via an ADS-B UAT), but I thought they'd only reduce the
planned number of TIS sites and maintain those until the ADS-B systems
provided an equivalent coverage area.

On the contrary, ADS-B is still a pipe dream with only a couple states
covered, and the deployment map on the ADS-B site
(http://www.flyadsb.com/) hasn't changed in ages. At this rate, I'll be
collecting social security by the time they fully deploy ADS-B --
assuming they don't change their minds, whine like a bunch of spoiled
brats, and claim they don't have enough money to finish deployment.
Needless to say, I'm ****ed and I want someone's head on a platter. Of
course, in this world of "no consequences management", I'm a practical
guy, so a check for $2500 will also suffice.

So why am I bitching here? Because we need to mobilize GTX330 owners
and get them to bitch to Blakely, Garmin, and anyone else who will
listen to common sense. I'm not expecting TIS to live forever, but if
we allow them to decommission TIS prematurely, we set a dangerous
precedent for the future handling of the Air Traffic Control
infrastructure, the costs of which the average GA pilot and owner will
increasingly bear.

-Doug

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Doug Vetter, CFIMEIA

http://www.dvcfi.com
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