uAvionix and partner Capital Sciences successfully completed the design, installation, acceptance testing, and training for a second group of six airports under the FAA’s Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI).
The contract, awarded in September 2024, was completed within the allotted 90 days despite setbacks caused by hurricanes hitting Florida, company officials said.
“Together with the FAA teams on site at each of the six airports, our team in the field and in the back office did an amazing job running these installations in parallel across the state of Florida in record time,” said Christian Ramsey, CCO of uAvionix. “Feedback from the local controllers has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are very proud of the contribution we are making to day-to-day FAA operational safety.”
uAvionix FlightLine systems were deployed at Miami Executive Airport (KTMB), Tampa International Airport (KTPA), Orlando Sanford International Airport (KSFB), Daytona Beach International Airport (KDAB), Palm Beach International Airport (KPBI), and Jacksonville International Airport (KJAX).
For each airport, the team deployed up to eight dual-frequency ADS-B receivers, providing redundant and overlapping coverage of the airport surface and airspace out to five miles around each airport, company officials explaiend.
Each tower and TRACON also received up to four dedicated situation awareness displays running the uAvionix FlightLine solution, they noted.
Additionally, each airport received uAvionix VTU-20 ADS-B vehicle transmitters, which allow vehicles to be visible to users of the FlightLine display and other aircraft, reducing the risk of runway incursions due to vehicles on the runway, they added.
The Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI) is an FAA program aimed at enhancing surface surveillance and situational awareness at towered airports across the National Airspace System (NAS).
“Currently there are airports where tower controllers do not have visibility of all areas of the airport surface,” uAvionix officials said. “By deploying the SAI capability to the tower cab, controllers gain timely and accurate depictions of both aircraft and ground vehicles on the entire surface movement area of an airport in all weather conditions and are able to proactively address any potential safety concerns.”
The FAA has plans to roll out similar installations to dozens of towered airports across the United States in the coming years. These systems can also be leveraged by Federal Contract Towers (FCT) operating within Mode C veils and are expected to be deployed more broadly throughout the NAS in the near future, according to company officials.
For more information: uAvionix.com, CapSci.com, FAA.gov/Surface-Safety-Portfolio
