Garmin recently announced the certification of Runway Occupancy Awareness (ROA), marking the first certified software solution utilizing the Surface Indications and Alert (SURF-IA) technology. ROA uses ADS-B traffic to alert the crew of potential runway incursions caused by nearby airborne aircraft, aircraft on the ground and ground vehicles. The initial Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification was received by Textron Aviation on the G1000® NXi-equipped Cessna Caravan.
Garmin also expects to receive FAA certification on more Garmin-equipped aircraft in the coming months. ROA is initially available on select Garmin Integrated Flight Decks ranging from G1000 NXi to G5000 equipped aircraft serving the broad general and business aviation markets.
“With the rate of runway incursions increasing, there is a real need for increased safety tools in the cockpit. Equipping pilots with this technology can reduce the risk of runway incursions and help provide confidence for pilots navigating busy and complex airports,” said Garmin Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Aviation, Phil Straub.
ROA technology analyzes aircraft GPS and ADS-B traffic information relevant to the airport’s runways and taxiways to assess and alert the crew of a possible runway incursion or collision. ROA provides visual crew-alerting system (CAS) caution and warning annunciations on the pilot’s primary flight display (PFD) and highlights the runway yellow or red, depending on the level of threat, on Garmin’s Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT™). It also provides similar caution and warning annunciations on the SafeTaxi® map displayed simultaneously on the multifunction window.
Both visual and aural alerts are provided to the flight crew based on the potential hazard, ranging from no immediate collision hazard to a warning level alert where a collision risk could occur within 15 seconds. Indications and alerts to the flight crew include: any traffic landing, taking off, stopped, or taxiing on the aircraft’s runway; traffic on approach to the aircraft’s runway or runway that crosses the aircraft’s runway; as well as any traffic on the runway at which the aircraft is holding.
ROA builds upon Garmin’s other Terminal Safety Solutions that help increase situational awareness while navigating runways and taxiways, including Runway Overrun Awareness and Alerting System (ROAAS), Garmin SafeTaxi and Garmin SurfaceWatch™.
To learn more about Garmin’s ROA technology, visit Garmin.com/Aviation.
NOTICE
SmartSky Networks, LLC Ceases Operations
SmartSky Networks posted on its website that it has “ceased business operations effective Aug. 16, 2024.”
As recent as the August 2024 issue of King Air magazine, it was announced that an FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for SmartSky LITE on the King Air 350i was issued and covered installation of the inflight Wi-Fi system for the King Air 200 through 360 models.
The company’s website stated:
SmartSky was founded with a bold vision: to revolutionize aviation communications. We successfully built and operated a leading, high-performance nationwide air-to-ground network using unlicensed spectrum, made possible by innovative patented technology. Along the way, our team dedicated great energy and expertise, earning several prestigious industry awards. While our products were groundbreaking and we were growing our market share, we ultimately could not secure the necessary financing to continue our mission.
We hope that SmartSky’s achievements have inspired others to dream big, push boundaries, and pursue transformative ideas to reshape the future.
Any inquiries should be directed to the following address:
smartsky@vlpc.com