[time-nuts] Aircraft ping timing

[Brian Lloyd]

On Fri, Mar 21, 2014 at 11:22 PM, Joe Leikhim <jleikhim at leikhim.com> wrote:

> In retrospect it is kind of crazy that fleet owners will put tracking
> devices on $100K semi trucks and cranes yet $100 million aircraft have to
> rely upon 60 year old technology (Transponders) and ACARS to keep track of
> them. I don't question the utility of TCAS and Transponders, it is just the
> issue of not tracking such a valuable asset that is kind of crazy. Can you
> imagine how much an aircraft like that is worth in spare parts alone? -on
> the world market. If I were an insurer I would be asking questions of the
> industry.


First, just because you imagine there is a problem does not mean that there
is a problem. It is possible to determine the position of every airplane
but they just don't go missing all that often, as this recent event
illustrates. If this were a common problem, we wouldn't be talking about
it. ;-)

But the solution already exists and is being deployed - ADS-B. By 2020 each
aircraft will be beaconing its ID, position, and velocity vector on 978MHz
and/or 1090MHz. The solution for long over-water tracking is either to
receive and relay such information, or put up some LEO birds to wiretap and
forward the broadcasts.

-- 
Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL
706 Flightline Drive
Spring Branch, TX 78070
brian at lloyd.com
+1.916.877.5067