Pilots of the OT!

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Is ADS-B going to replace the Mode C/S transponders?

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It depends. I’ve heard of no such thing.

could be a long long time before it's completely replaced but ADS-B will be mandatory in the US in the coming years

It is one of those grand plans the FAA rolls out, hardly gets funding for, and a decade later still talking up. See NextGen.

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I know a lot of pilots are griping about the program because the equipment is expensive, and the requirement (lack of equipment) would exclude a lot of aircraft from Class B and C airspace.

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I don’t know any pilots griping about it, the only people griping about it are the cheap asses who have to retrofit their 172 with a 10-20 K piece of avionics that’s 1/4 the value of their airplane.

I think some airplanes built/certificated before a certain date are exempt so I think it’s a fairly well designed rule and implementation process, especially since the FAA announced mandatory implementation for 2020 quite a while back. Undoubtedly there will be issues and it will be delayed though.

Reading on the FAA website, I am kinda shocked this hasn't been implemented sooner.

I am not a pilot, but having real-time information for things around me seems pretty darn advantageous to have. Especially weather-related issues.

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AIRMET Airmen's Meteorological Information: A weather advisory issued by a meteorological watch office for aircraft that is potentially hazardous to low-level aircraft /aircraft with limited capability. AIRMETs cover less severe weather than SIGMETs: moderate turbulence & icing, surface winds of 30 knots, or widespread restricted visibility.


Convective SIGMET Convective Significant Meteorological Information: Issued for an area of thunderstorms affecting an area of 3,000 square miles or greater, a line of thunderstorms at least 60 nm long, and/or severe or embedded thunderstorms affecting any area that are expected to last 30 minutes or longer.


SIGMET Significant Meteorological Information: A weather advisory that contains meteorological information concerning the safety of all aircraft: severe or greater turbulence over a 3,000-square-mile area, severe or greater icing over a 3,000-square-mile area, IMC conditions over a 3,000-square-mile area due to dust, sand, or volcanic ash.


METAR Aviation routine weather report: Contains data for the temperature, dew point, wind speed & direction, precipitation, cloud cover & heights, visibility, and barometric pressure. Reports are typically generated once an hour.

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These all seem like very cool products to have.

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could be a long long time before it's completely replaced but ADS-B will be mandatory in the US in the coming years

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I'd imagine some revision of the spec will be needed to address security flaws first.

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Reading on the FAA website, I am kinda shocked this hasn't been implemented sooner. I am not a pilot, but having real-time information for things around me seems pretty darn advantageous to have. Especially weather-related issues.

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All of that is already available and required to be reviewed before a flight. You can also contact a flight service station in air on different frequencies if you want an update although it’s a pain in the arse. ADSB just gives it to you in the airplane as/if it’s updated and also gives you graphical weather which is huge for small airplanes not equipped with radar. The biggest benefit is enhanced traffic awareness, it is extremely precise and a huge benefit for situational awareness. When I started out I was a flight instructor in Houston, I had so many oh shite moments out in the practice area because people weren’t communicating their location, if I would’ve had ADSB it wouldn’t have been an issue because I could’ve seen everyone (assuming they were properly equipped) in the vicinity.