FAA to Begin Decommissioning VORs This Year

 

As part of the NextGen initiative to adopt a Performance Based Navigation (PBN) airway structure supported by GPS, the FAA is moving forward with plans to decommission approximately 30% of currently operating domestic VORs over the next 10 years.

 

The VORs left behind will constitute a minimum operational network,  intended to support conventional navigation in the event of a GPS outage, while not tying up resources maintaining unnecessary and underused VORs.

 

The decommission process will take place in two phases, with the first phase lasting from 2016 to 2020, and the second phase lasting from 2021 to 2025.

 

Although the FAA has not released specific dates for when each VOR will be decommissioned, they have provided a list of the first 35 VORs that have been approved for decommissioning, and in what phase of the project each will be removed.

That list is available in pdf format here.  

 

For instance, our local HRS VORTAC in Young Harris is slated to be decommissioned in Phase 2. That particular VORTAC surprises me.

 

The removal of these VORs will have a large effect on the domestic airway structure and instrument procedures at many airports.

 

And if I may be allowed a bit of editorial license, staking our entire aero nav structure on a space based system given the current international environment we live in is just plain, well -- stupid.

 

Both China and the Russia have and are working on anti-satellite weapons aka satellite killers. While we may have a lot of GPS sats in orbit, start taking them out and the GPS system will be degraded. At what point would DoD turn off the civilian side and leave all those users out in a lurch. In today's environment I would not be comfortable with that thought.

 

 

AOPA Says Loran May Take On New Life In Age Of GPS

Notes Satellite-Based Nav Still Has Its Problems
Courtesy of Aero-News.net

GPS isn't perfect... and during outages pilots need a suitable backup. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association says while most pilots use VORs, the FAA plans to decommission them in the next 15 to 20 years.

Enter loran... or should we say, reenter loran.

Last year, the Coast Guard, which operates and maintains loran transmitting stations, proposed to pull the plug on this technology. AOPA pointed out that it still may need to play an important role in the nation's navigation and airspace surveillance system. The Coast Guard then decided to take a more studied approach.

But recently, the Coast Guard asked users to weigh in on its future. If it's retained, the Coast Guard listed options on how to manage it. Loran was more popular until GPS came along. GPS has proven to be easier to use and more affordable for primary navigation.

"It's premature to talk about management options until the FAA and Coast Guard decide if loran is suitable for aviation use as a backup to GPS," said Randy Kenagy, AOPA senior director of advanced technology. "We can discuss how to manage it later."

Over the next two decades, the FAA plans to decommission VORs and radar systems and make the transition to ADS-B (automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast) as the primary surveillance system for air traffic control. Because ADS-B requires GPS to report an aircraft's position to ATC, a GPS failure could leave pilots without electronic navigation and air traffic controllers blind unless an alternative positioning system were available.

In its recent comments to the Coast Guard, AOPA laid out various performance parameters for a backup system such as being available for instrument operations throughout North America and the Caribbean; providing uninterrupted service for 30 minutes after a GPS outage; and adding no more than 10 percent to the cost of a navigation or dependent surveillance system.

"While loran appears to be a viable option—among other options—many questions and policy issues remain," Kenagy said. "Those would have to be resolved before the FAA, Coast Guard, and the aviation industry can develop an implementation strategy."