Lovin' ADS-B

[Dave Piehler]

I live in the Midwest, in an area where there's plenty of air traffic, but not a lot of C and B airspace.  I installed ADS-B over the winter and am using it with Foreflight fed with the Garmin Flightstream 210.  Even in the hinterlands the traffic function is impressive.  i flew to Iron Moutain, MI today, just across the border from Wisconsin into the UP.  it's an active airport with CTAF.  As I approached the airport I could hear Center working a departure.  Sure enough, I could see him on the iPad.  I also noticed a target on the iPad north of me about 14 miles, 500' higher, headed straight for KIMT.  His ground speed was slower than mine, but he was a little bit closer to the airport.  After about 5 minutes Center finally pointed him out to me.  About that same time there was another departure that showed up on its own, and a Pilatus called for clearance from the ramp.  I could see his data on the iPad s well, even though he was not yet airborne.  Four targets in my vicinity that had ADS-B.  Wonder if there were others that didn't.  

Point is, this stuff is very helpful for situational awareness, even if it is incomplete.  The more I use this technology, the more i like it.  As more planes install it, it will only become more useful.

Dave Pieher