ADS-B Traffic Quiz: How does it work?
The FAA has managed to make the traffic component of ADS-B both easy and hard. There’s a new set of acronyms, like UAT, TIS-B, 1090ES, ADS-B Out, ADS-R, FIS-B, but do they really matter at the end of the day? The short answer is yes and you should know what they mean, but the good news is once you’re properly equipped and up in the air, the system “just works” and will provide a complete traffic picture on your iPad or panel in most parts of the U.S.
Portable ADS-B receivers for the iPad, like Sentry, have made traffic in the cockpit accessible to all pilots flying any type of aircraft. Take our latest quiz to learn more about ADS-B traffic nuances, so you’ll be confident in knowing when you’re receiving a complete traffic picture on your iPad, and when you’re not.








Thank you for another good quiz which sharpened my knowledge.
Thank you especially for the traffic avoidance question.
Great questions and thank you for helping us with ADS-B knowledge!
Question 7. If I didn’t react to an Traffic proximity alert and begin simultaneous evasive maneuvers….I probably wouldn’t be able to respond to this quiz.
Not sure I agree with #7. I once saw an aircraft on ADS-B at the same altitude and heading directly in my direction. Before I visually saw the plane, I had changed altitude. Then the plane flew very close to where I would have been.
The question is misleading because it does not limit the hypothetical situation to IFR flight; nor does it detail how much of a deviation would be required in order to avoid merging your aircraft’s depiction on the TIS-B display with the target aircraft’s. I’m sure the avionics manufacturers don’t want to warrant that a pilot can rely exclusively on the display and can ignore their “see and avoid” obligation during VFR conditions, but waiting to actually see a merging aircraft might be too little, too late. I fly in the Denver area, and routinely deviate for traffic conflicts my displays show as problematic until I can actually see the target. IFR deviations ought to be explained to the controller monitoring the flight–after the fact, but it’s easy to miss nearby traffic in hazy but nevertheless VFR conditions. Accordingly selecting a different answer other than the suggested answer to this question should not be a cause for embarrassment.
These quizzes are so helpful. Thank you.