"Jim Kellett" wrote in message et...
Just curious - anyone ever heard of a US glider with a TCAD (such as Ryan's
8800 Gold) installed? Love to get a "user's report" if so . . .

Jim Kellett, Resident Curmudgeon
Chief Flight Instructor, Skyline Soaring Club
Captain and CFI(G), Civil Air Patrol
Chairman, Classic Division, Vintage Sailplane Association
Webmaster, Open Cirrus Website
"If Flying Were the Language of Man, Soaring Would be its Poetry"

Having used a Ryan TCAD for a few years, then upgrading to TCAS, I
would say that TCAD is not very reliable. Rather than looking at the
display, wondering where the target really is, better to be looking
out the window. If you're anywhere near busy airspace, the display
will get very cluttered & hard to interpret, and your head is down &
locked while you look. Never tried thermalling with one, but im sure
it would be useless while circling.
I still remember the guy in the 102 at Truckee who got knocked from
the sky by an Aerostar (I think) who just departed & was head down &
locked programming his GPS. The glider pilot lived in spite of not
wearing a chute.
WIthout transponders, nobody else can see gliders, & lots of em
(Al)are flying around looking at
their...PDA/L-nav/S-nav/varios/GPS/MP3/etc. ad-nauseum.
Turn it all off & look out the window!
My o2 cents worth.
-Dan