Washington, DC, May 5, 2000 – The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) strongly supports recent action taken by President Clinton to discontinue the intentional degradation of Global Positioning System (GPS) signal accuracy.
Beginning at midnight on May 1, the United States stopped the intentional degradation of the GPS signals available to the public. The White House refers to this degradation feature as selective availability (SA), and this removal of SA means that civilian users of GPS now are able to pinpoint locations up to 10 times more accurately with existing GPS receivers. GPS is a dual-use, satellite-based system that provides accurate location and navigation data to users worldwide. The original White House press release, dated May 1, is available on the Web at www.whitehouse.gov/library.
In response to the White House initiative, NBAA President Jack Olcott stated, “The President’s decision to discontinue selective availability increases the value of GPS navigation systems presently installed onboard aircraft. Pilots will now have more accurate representations of actual aircraft positions.
Olcott also noted, “The decision to deactivate selective availability comes six years earlier than planned by the Department of Defense, and we applaud this decision to accelerate the deactivation timeline because it will enhance worldwide navigation. NBAA will closely monitor how the FAA will adapt to the new GPS environment.”
NBAA represents the aviation interests of over 6,100 companies which own or operate general aviation aircraft as an aid to the conduct of their business, or are involved with business aviation. NBAA Member Companies earn annual revenues approaching $5 trillion — a number that is about half the gross domestic product — and employ more than 19 million people worldwide. The NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention is the world’s largest display of civil aviation products and services.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.