From the Flight Deck features insights from the core of our aviation family – our pilots! This issue, learn about the next generation of aircraft navigation with Ari Sarmento, Jet Linx System Chief Pilot.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) initiative for the future of national airspace management and control is called the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen. The concepts evolved from initiatives started during President Bill Clinton’s administration to update and transform the nationwide Air Traffic Control (ATC) system from a ground-based, radar network to an aircraft- and satellite-based system. Equipment would also transition from the World War II-era analog radio systems to contemporary digital systems. A large part of this system is called Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B). You may have heard the terms NextGen and ADS-B more often in the last few years because the vision is quickly becoming a reality.

The FAA is working with industry organizations and manufacturers to implement the plan, which it believes will increase the safety and efficiency of airspace in the US by providing more complete and reliable traffic and weather data to pilots and controllers. Consequently, the aircraft best-served will be those that are the best-equipped.

The goal of the NextGen initiative is to make air transportation safer and more reliable while increasing the capacity of our airspace and reducing aviation’s environmental impact. Projections indicate that air traffic in our country will increase by 20% over the next decade. The systems being implemented now and in the mid-term are needed to accommodate the increasing demands on our national airspace system. In addition, the FAA is working with its global counterparts to ensure that NextGen is forward-compatible with similar initiatives worldwide, such as Europe’s Single European Sky ATM (air traffic management) Research (SESAR).

With the increase in air traffic (from general and commercial aviation, very light jets, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), & commercial space flight) in our near future, there is an immediate need to upgrade the national airspace system. The NextGen initiative will play an important role in a safe future in the skies.

Have a question for Ari? Send an email with the subject “From the Flight Deck” to social@jetlinx.com.