FAA Proposes New Radio Altimeter Rules
By Aero News Network
New Minimum Standards
The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing new regulations that would require all radio altimeters to meet specific minimum performance requirements.
Those requirements are for altimeters to able to withstand interference from wireless signals in neighboring spectrum bands, while continuing to provide accurate altitude readings to both pilots and integrated aircraft safety systems. The FAA says the rule’s initial implementation date will likely fall between 2029 and 2032. It estimates US airlines alone would need to replace 17,033 radio altimeters to comply with the rule as proposed. Cost to upgrade or replace an estimated 60,000 radio altimeters in planes has estimated at $4.5 billion.
These regulations would require all aircraft equipped with radio altimeters operating under part 121 and those aircraft with radio altimeters operating under part 129 with 30 or more passenger seats or a payload capacity of more than 7,500 pounds to comply with the minimum performance requirements by the date the Federal Communications Commission authorizes wireless services in the Upper C-band.
All other aircraft equipped with radio altimeters would be required to comply with the same minimum performance requirements two years later. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says it is following the lead of the bill passed by Congress, which directed the commission to open a large swath of upper C-band frequencies for next generation wireless use.
