Larry Dighera wrote:

Locally, approach radar has no trouble finding our transponderless
gliders (when we call them), tracking them, and warning/diverting other
traffic. We generally do this within 15-20 miles of our towered
airports. It works well for us, given the altitudes we fly at.


Thank you for this information.

Would the gliders you mention be of glass-fiber, aluminum, or
carbon-fiber composite construction? I would expect a glass ship with
few metal parts to be rather transparent to radar.

In my local area, some glider are fiberglass with some carbon, like a
spar (like a PIK 20 E), or are entirely carbon. All are motorgliders. At
Ephrata, WA, where most of the state's gliders fly, the construction
varies from fiberglass through carbon. Only a few of the gliders are
motorgliders. I expect materials to make a difference, but it's hard to
tell from the anecdotal information. The biggest difference seems to be
making that radio call to ATC.

It's worth contacting ATC in your area to see if they are willing and
able to do the same for you. It's not practical everywhere, but it's
cheap and easy if it is.


I'm not so much concerned about my personal situation as I am about
the FAA rescinding the glider exemption from FARs that require
transponder use. If we can give the FAA some guidance on this issue,
the outcome will likely be more acceptable, than if the draft their
NPRM without pilot input, IMO.

My thought is pilots, ATC, and FAA might discover contacting ATC
achieves enough of what everyone wants, that a complete revocation of
our exemption might be avoided. To make the case, we need to try the ATC
system to determine this.


A problem the reflector can not solve is TCAS will still not detect the
glider. This might be deal-breaker for the FAA/NTSB people.

I agree. But rescinding the glider exemption from FARs requiring
transponder use won't address that issue with powered aircraft that
lack an electrical system either.

True. I don't know where that is going, but maybe if a jet runs into a
Champ, they'll get their exemption removed, too. Or maybe they are next
to lose it, regardless.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

* Updated! "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* New Jan '08 - sections on Mode S, TPAS, ADS-B, Flarm, more

* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org