General Aviation
A single mast of cameras and sensors on the airfield, a controller station that runs on site or remotely, and an optional pilot companion app. Designed, built, installed and maintained in the US.
Verdict: The best fit for most US airports: tower services on one mast, staffed on site or remotely, at a fraction of a conventional tower.
Small and non-towered US airports; class D night and backup coverage
Operators of non-towered and small towered US airports who want tower services without building or staffing a conventional tower.
No list price. General Aviation states that its hardware, installation and support cost 60–95% less than a conventional tower's capital cost; ask for a quote for your field.
What it is
A digital tower on a 50–150 ft mast with a 20 × 20 ft base: 14–18 fixed 4K panoramic cameras and 2–4 pan-tilt-zoom cameras that track moving aircraft, plus an ADS-B ground station, radios on the airfield's frequencies, an ambient-audio microphone and weather inputs.
A digital tower center: the controller station, on site or remote, showing live video with aircraft boxed and labelled, runway-incursion and conflict alerts, close-up views to check landing gear, and weather formatted for broadcast. One controller per airport, and a certified controller issues every clearance.
A pilot companion app that electronic flight bag apps can optionally connect to for traffic, weather, runway use, camera feeds and a transcript of each transmission. Pilots need no new equipment: standard VHF radios and transponders.
Strengths
- Built for the airports most digital tower systems were not: small and non-towered US fields.
- One mast, standard power and a fiber link. No concrete tower building.
- Controllers work on site or remotely, so a controller can serve an airport with no one on the field.
- 24/7 operation, with ADS-B, radio and airfield audio keeping traffic in view when cameras cannot see; also offered as night-time control, disaster recovery and failover for towered airports.
- Designed, built, installed and maintained by a US team, against FAA digital tower requirements for class D VFR tower service.
Limits
- Newer than the European systems: its compliance path lists FAA system design evaluation at the William J. Hughes Technical Center, so ask for the current approval status for your timeline.
- No public price list. The company publishes a relative figure, not a quote.
How it scored
On the same published criteria as every other option.
| Criterion | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Small-airport fit | Strong | Built for the US airfields that cannot justify a conventional tower. |
| On-site footprint | Strong | Published: one 50–150 ft mast, 20 × 20 ft base, standard power, fiber. |
| Controller location | Strong | Controllers operate on site or remotely. |
| Night, low-visibility and backup coverage | Strong | 24/7, ADS-B and audio beyond cameras, and a published backup role for towered airports. |
| US build, support and FAA alignment | Strong | Designed, built, installed and maintained in the US, to FAA requirements. |
| Operational track record | Partial | Demonstrated at a real airfield; FAA system design evaluation is on its published path. |
| Cost transparency | Partial | Publishes a cost relative to a conventional tower; no price list. |