I'm Canadian Do I Need to be ADS-B Equipped? (Updated)

12/30/2019

Updated December 30, 2019
Introduction

As of January 1, 2020 much of the airspace over the U.S.A will be open to aircraft operating with "ADS-B Out" equipment only. This year at Oshkosh we spoke with the FAA get some questions answered as it pertains to us Canadians. As it turns out we do not get any special exemptions for having a C mark on our aircraft however depending on where you fly it may not be as restrictive as you may think. Hopefully the questions and answers below will help you better understand how the new regulations impact your flying so you can make an informed decision whether or not to spend the money on getting ADS-B equipped.

ADS-B Questions & Answers (Applies to U.S. Airspace)

As a Canadian pilot flying a Canadian registered aircraft.

Am I exempt from the ADS-B requirements?
- There are no special exemptions for aircraft registered outside the United States.
- The only exception is that aircraft that are transiting Class C US Airspace that is controlled by a NavCanada (The Cherry Point/East Point Cooridoor as an example) will not need to be ADS-B equipped.

What areas will require that I have ADS-B Out installed in my aircraft?
- The simple answer is that any airspace that currently requires you to have a Mode-C transponder will require you to have ADS-B as of 2020. There are a few additions to this rule which include any airspace that lies over or under Class B (30nm Ring), over Class C and all airspace above 10,000 MSL (greater than 2500AGL).

What is meant by any airspace the lies over or under Class B?
- Class B airspace is located above most of the nation's largest airports such as: Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Chicago, Phoenix, Miami etc... It is more commonly described as an upside down wedding cake that extends out to 30nm from the main airport. Under the new ADS-B mandate for 2020 you will need to be ADS-B equipped if you wish to fly within the 30nm circle surrounding any Class B regardless of your altitude. (See Seattle Example Below)

Can I stay above Class C?
- No you will have to fly around Class C airspace as well

Are there any restrictions outside controlled airspace?
- Yes, without ADS-B you are restricted to operating below 10,000 MSL. In order to allow for flight in mountainous regions there is an exemption zone 2500AGL above 10,000 MSL to allow you to clear the mountains.

How do the new ADS-B rules affect me as a pilot in British Columbia come 2020?
When you fly in the US:

Do you fly at or above 10,000 feet MSL (or more than 2,500 feet AGL above 10,000 feet MSL)?
Do you fly to or from, above or through Class C airspace?
Do you fly within 30 nautical miles around Class B airport?

If you can answer no to all these questions or arrange you flight so that you can answer no to these questions then you do not need to worry about ADS-B.

How much of the Northwestern States will be off limits without ADS-B?

As stated above, you will require ADS-B Out in order to fly above 10,000 feet MSL (or more than 2,500 feet AGL above 10,000 feet MSL everywhere. However the only Class C & B restrictions in the Northwest are the areas on the map in RED. You will not be permitted to fly over, under or through these areas without ADS-B Out. Realistically the majority of the region will still be very accessible. What will seem very restrictive is the fact that any airport that lies under the 30nm ring around Seattle will require you to be ADS-B equipped in order to visit whether it is a controlled airport or not. (See bottom image for more detail)

Other Class C Airports that will be restricted to ADS-B only are: Boisie Idaho (KBOI) & Billings Montana (KBIL)

Without ADS-B you will have to fly around these red circles as of 2020

The only airspace that will be limited below 10,000MSL in Alaska is the Class "C" around Anchorage

Conclusion

Our hope is that by giving you this somewhat basic version of how the ADS-B mandate of 2020 will impact your flying, you will be able to make a better decision as to whether upgrading to ADS-B is for you. There are many options on the market with more being added each month. One thing is for certain, we would all rather be putting the money into avgas but I'm sure everyone said the same thing decades ago when 2 way radios and ELTs became mandatory.

ADS-B out gives ATC the ability to track your aircraft with greater reliability and accuracy than conventional radar. If pilots opt to pair their ADS-B out installation with an ADS-B in component such as the Appreo Stratus they will be treated to live weather and some traffic information. One important thing to remember is that currently there are no ADS-B antenna's in Canada so the benefits of ADS-B in are really only limited to when you are flying in the U.S. and within range of the numerous ground based ADS-B stations.

For more information visit the FAA ADS-B FAQ PAGE

Current (2015) ADS-B In coverage for features such as ADS-B live weather & traffic

Reference: General Aviation News

16 Comments

Robyn

9/23/2015 08:40:46 am

That was very useful. A similar chart covering the Alaska panhandle would be appreciated.

BC Aviation link

9/23/2015 09:28:41 am

ALASKA
There is no Class B airspace in Alaska and the only Class C is the zone immediately surrounding Anchorage International PANC.

Your only restrictions in Alaska would be the 10,000ft rule (Above 2500 AGL when over terrain that exceeds 10,000MSL) and the Class C airspace around Anchorage.

Long story short, you are unrestricted in the Panhandle below 10,000.

Travis McCrea link

9/23/2015 10:55:57 am

Contrary to many other pilots of older planes, I would love to see ADS-B rolled out in Canada. I realize that Canada is experimenting with our own version of ADS-B which uses satellites like some European Countries use... but we should get SOMETHING. The weather reporting and traffic reporting is amazing.

It's going to cost a bit to upgrade our planes but it's upgrading to make flying safer.

Bob Ashey

4/3/2016 07:47:30 am

When is ADS-B going to be required in Canada. Will it be compatible with the USA system?

Jeff tapsay

4/3/2016 05:45:54 pm

Bob, I do not believe Nav Canada has set any specific date. Some ADS-B ground stations have been set up around Hudson Bay. But there is no benefit with where these current stations are located for GA aircraft. That is unless you fly over the Hudson Bay Area a lot. Furthermore, NavCan has no plans to support ADS-B in, which is a real shame. I recommend you follow G. Alan Hepburn's article in this months COPA Flight. He will be covering this topic over the next couple of months. Should be a good read

BC General Aviation

4/3/2016 07:51:45 am

Bob,
I do not think that Canada has an established timeline for ADSB implementation. Nav Canada through its subsidiary Aireon is developing satellite based ADSB for worldwide deployment. No plans like the FAA 2020 mandate have been announced in Canada.

Henry Methorst

6/11/2016 10:27:46 pm

If we don't have it here in Canada, why does this coverage map show all this ADS-B?

Henry W Methorst

6/11/2016 10:38:54 pm

Sorry, here's the link:

https://flightaware.com/adsb/coverage#data-coverage

BC General Aviation link

6/16/2016 04:41:22 pm

Henry this is an excellent question. The answer is that the map on the link that you posted is a depiction of the ADSB coverage by hobbyists who have ADSB receivers for flight following purposes. These hobbyists can set up the receiver anywhere and then link the data to flightaware.com to assist in flight tracking. The only ADSB coverage in Canada is located in the Hudson Bay region and is not the same as the ADSB that is discussed in this article.

The only place in Canada that you will receive ADSB data is very close to the border when you are at an altitude high enough to obtain line of site coverage from a ground based FAA ADSB station in the United States.

Henry Methorst

6/17/2016 09:35:22 am

Thanks!

It looks like the American system and future NavCan ADS-B systems are fundamentally different. The US is using ground based antenna while NavCan is moving towards satellite based systems. Are these going to be compatible or will there have to be two separate receivers?

I was looking at Stratux as a cost effective option, but perhaps its not too useful for us Canadians.

FRANK L ERVIN

2/3/2017 09:32:40 pm

There is one benefit not mentioned here for Canadian pilots to equip with ADS-B out: collision avoidance. Even while in Canada, your ADS-B out equipped aircraft will be sending position reports that will be received by aircraft equipped with some form of ADS-B in. The data can be displayed on panel mounted or portable devices relatively inexpensively. Imagine if most everyone had ADS-B out down here in the Lower Mainland. Near collisions have occurred on a regular basis in the fishbowl of an airspace we have near Vancouver. I can think of no other cost effective collision avoidance solution for small aircraft than widespread adoption of ADS-B out.

Jeff Deuchar link

9/19/2019 05:37:10 pm

A clarifying question; So crossing the border in non class C or B we won't required ADS-B?

Tom bell

11/21/2019 03:33:02 pm

Jeff. I'm really confused because nowhere have I read (official documents) that Mode C will be acceptable for crossing the boarder into the US Jan 2020.
Under AIM 4-1-20 F 3 it states a transponder mode C or S is required to cross the border. In articles I have read such as this one it clearly states any airspace that currently requires a Mode C transponder will require ADSB Jan 2020.

Ryan VH

11/22/2019 07:43:19 am

You must differentiate between airspace that requires MODE C and the cross border requirement to have MODE C. The requirement to have ADSB is linked to the class of airspace that you are flying in wheras MODE C accross the border is just that a requirement to have Mode C crossing the border. They are unrelated.

Ryan Van Haren

9/20/2019 07:47:04 am

You won't need ADS-B to simply cross the border. You will need it to fly in any transponder airspace as depicted in the artice.

Richard Crapp

2/20/2020 09:55:11 am

I believe we’re able to fly under the KNUW Class C floor.