Dave Nadler wrote:

And finally, take a look at the Garmin Astro Dog tracker. I don't know
if anyone has used these in a glider, but it looks like it might work,
and it does it's job automatically - no pilot workload. $600 for the
display and one collar, works with up to 10 collars. Buy a unit and give
the collar to your friend, so you know where he is; he does the same for
you. It also works over 7+ mile range on the ground on a dog, certainly
farther in the air, again a greater distance than FLARM.

No, the collar doesn't have a shock device built into it, but that might
be a useful feature for clubs that have problems getting members to
bring the glider back when their time is up!


Eric ! Are you insinuating that your plane is - a dog ??

No, no: *I* have the display! My friends' gliders have the collars so I
know where they are.

Incidentally, the collar can tell "whether he’s [the dog] running,
sitting, on point or treeing quarry. Astro can also sound an alarm to
let you know instantly when your dog goes on point." I'm certain that a
collar, properly mounted on the glider, will indicate "on point" when
the pilot is thermalling.

Now, Dave, imagine how useful one of these would be if it were mounted
on a friend's glider, a friend flying in the same competition you are,
especially if you didn't mention it to him, right?

But the dog tracking idea has some merit: if they can do it for dogs,
perhaps the same technology would be allowed for airborne use.

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

* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* Sections on Mode S, TPAS, ADS-B, Flarm, more

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