US Domestic Enroute CPDLC Update

Key Points

Domestic en-route CPDLC in the US is now available to everyone – the Notam limiting GA/BA participation to approved trial participants has been removed.
To get CPDLC, you’ve got to have the right avionics – the FAA has published a list of aircraft types, which you will need to check to see if you comply.

Here’s a very brief summary. For the full, untarnished info, head to the dedicated FAA site here.

So for a long time, domestic en-route CPDLC in the US was only available to operators of bizav aircraft who were signed up to the FAA trial. That trial has now ended, and as long as your avionics make the grade, you can now make use of this service.

The FAA has published a list with a whole bunch of aircraft types on it.

If your aircraft is highlighted in yellow or green, you can get datalink – as long as you complete and submit the participation form.

If it’s highlighted in red (or not on the list at all), you can’t get datalink.

Click to download the list!

On completing the form, L3Harris have said this:

If you have responded to all follow-up questions from L3Harris and have been awaiting publication of the participation list: please compare your avionics to the participation list that is referenced above.

If your aircraft type and avionics configurations are not listed, please continue to file for CPDLC-DCL only (FANS) at this time. We will be reaching out individually over the next week with more information on the current status of your aircraft’s avionics in regards to the participation list.

If you have verified that your aircraft type and avionics configurations are acceptable according to the participation list, you may begin en route participation at this time.

Please review the following guidance:

Ensure that your avionics are configured to use VDL Mode 2 as the primary media for U.S. Domestic En Route CPDLC. VDLM2 is the only approved media for participation in the domestic U.S.
Ensure that both the ‘J4’ code in the field 10a equipment field as well as the FANSE (e.g. ‘1FANSE2PDC’) DAT Code in field 18 (other information/DAT) are both included on the flight plan to indicate eligibility for U.S. Domestic En Route CPDLC.(see the US Domestic Flight and Planning Guide for more information).
Verify that VHF3/COM3 is set to DATA.
The aircraft registration/tail in field 18 (other information/REG).
If you are still researching your avionics in response to questions from L3Harris, please continue to file for CPDLC-DCL only (FANS) until your verification of eligibility is complete.

Also, a member has reported that if you’re now eligible but tried to log on in the past when you were not eligible, your aircraft reg might have been placed on a “blocked list”. To get off this list, you need to send the participation form to L3Harris, who will forward to the FAA to ask to unblock you (should take less than 24hrs).

Where is CPDLC available in the US?

L3Harris published this updated map on 27 Nov 2023:

Come on, Fort Worth!

So do I need CPDLC now?

No. US domestic datalink is not mandated.

What if I’m flying into the US internationally?

Just kidding, we do actually know something about this. Or rather, L3Harris do. They have published this beautiful little guide answering this very question. You can access it here:

Click to download PDF.

For those of you who aren’t so familiar with the US, KUSA is the CPDLC logon code – and that is the one and only logon code you need, all the way across.

One Comment

David says:

7 December, 2023 at 2:57 pm

Filled out the L3Harris CPDLC Registration Form for our Falcon 8X.

A prompt response: “Unable.” Because we have the latest EASy IV software installed. The acceptance list calls out EASy III. Not a downwards compatibility acceptance situation–I guess?

So, we wait.

Thanks for the article and information!

US Domestic Enroute CPDLC Update