So the new NAS NextGen is bringing about a great deal of changes over the coming years. Many we are seeing today with ADS-B and WAAS approved approaches.
The FAA is reducing the amount of VOR facilities and moving to GPS and WAAS based routes and procedures. The VOR MON will be the redundancy in the event of GPS outage with only a limited amount of airports available with a VOR/ILS based approach.
I’m curious if ATP will be putting more emphasis on GPS instrument training vs. VOR/ILS tracking procedures? I know it will be never eliminated from the curriculum, but will less emphasis be placed on these systems in the future?
I’m glad they are keeping a VOR network in place. Placing so many eggs in the GPS basket has me a bit concerned though. Either way it’s happening and us pilots have to adapt.
ATP has always adapted and progressed with the times and the technology and that won’t change. That said while the FAA is taking down many of the VORs, ILS’s aren’t going away anytime soon. They’re the bread and butter of EVERY Major airport in the world and until ALL commercial aircraft have equipment capable of using the GPS to it’s full capacity, they will remain the approach of choice around the globe.
Flight schools, including ATP, must continue to teach those maneuvers, approaches, etc that are listed in the ACS/PTS. Why do we continue to teach pylon turns? Because they are a maneuver listed in the commercial ACS. It doesn’t matter that we will likely never complete a pylon turn outside of the practical test. As long as the FAA requires that pilot applicants be capable of performing and understanding ground based navigation aids, the students must learn them. That said, there is likely still plenty of life in ground based navigation equipment and aside from needing to know how to shoot an ILS for testing purposes, it’s a good idea for practical purposes. We are a long way out from moth balling ground based equipment and, personally, I hope we continue to keep the redundancy these systems provide for as long as possible.
I completely agree with both of you. The way the FAA represents the VOR MON information in the AIM, they make it sound like they’re ready to drop VORs like it hot besides their Minimum Operations Network and WUSMA network.
I know all approaches (Including NDBs) are still applicable today. I guess my question was will ATP be putting more focus on GPS based navigation versus ground based NAV. Both of you I believe answered that candidly. It will still be a requirement as long as the VOR MON system is in place.
Given the fast pace of technology these days though who knows what’s next…
I wouldn’t get too excited about these changes happening anytime soon. I have found the RNP approaches to be cumbersome and very rarely an advantage over ILS, which is an absolutely proven technology that is not going away anytime soon. If VORs are being reduced, I sure have not seen any actual signs of that either.
ATP will continue to emphasize the material needed to pass today’s check rides, while also informing students about future technologies.