On Apr 27, 11:09*am, Andrew Sarangan wrote:

The spirit of the original transponder exemption was to allow for
older airplanes that were manufactured before the days electrical
avionics became commonplace. So I can see the justification for this
proposal. However, a full blown mode C transponder may not be
necessary. A radar reflector like they use on weather balloon ought be
sufficient. It is just a piece of foil with a large cross section.- Hide quoted text -

Just to clarify, The FAA does not classify a glider as an airplane so
this has nothing to do with the exemption. The press release is poorly
worded. There is some good anti collision technology available but it
is not legal (yet) to use in the US. Most soaring is not done near
busy terminal areas so the Mode C thing would pretty much be a waste
for most sailplanes.
F Baum