Desert Falcon's Archives
FAA Certifies 1000th WAAS Approach
The Federal Aviation Association (www.faa.gov) recently hit a major milestone in the move toward a satellite-based air traffic control system with the implementation of the 1,000th instrument approach that uses the enhanced GPS Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS).
“There is a lot of talk about NextGen, a satellite-based air traffic control system that is envisioned for 20 years down the road,” said Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Phil Boyer, “but WAAS is an example of what I like to call ‘NowGen’—technologies to improve air traffic that are either here today or will be ready to deploy in the next three to five years.
”Since WAAS was turned on a few years ago, pilot groups have been pressing the FAA to transform aviation by implementing as many of the satellite-based approaches as possible each year. The FAA has diligently done so, implementing more than 300 each year.
