The Feb 2010 AOPA Pilot magazine has an article about two pilots rescued
after an airplane crash in Idaho. Each had a SPOT but neither unit was
well secured; fortunately, they were mobile enough to dig through the
wreckage to find and activate them. A medical helicopter landed on the
take off strip about 20 minutes after the accident, then the medical
technicians hiked to the crash site.

My SPOT is mounted with dual grip fasteners on the canopy rail, but I
think I'll make a stronger mount for it. Even if you carry it on your
person, it needs to be secured well enough to take the accident forces.
Being immobilized in the cockpit with SPOT around your feet won't help any.

The article said about 120,000 units have been sold since it went on
sale. I thought it would be more, but apparently the company is very
happy with the figures. Their new unit is even more attractive at half
the size, and with a better button layout. It would fit on a parachute
more easily, and it likely will have less dropouts with (I assume) a
newer, more sensitive GPS.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (netto to net to email me)

- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Jan/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm tinyurl.com/yg76qo9

- "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation Mar/2004" Much of what you need to know tinyurl.com/yfs7tnz