When I was flying power cross countries, I would always try to use flight
following. Unfortunately, most VFR traffic is probably pretty localized
where pilots wouldn't necessarily be doing this.

It's really too bad that the FAA is phasing out TIS. I suspect that almost
everyone who is buying or upgrading to a glass cockpit or even a Garman 430
/ 530 would have taken a really hard look at springing the extra $3-4K for a
Mode S transponder to get the traffic info.

Mike Schumann

"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message
news:NEFNg.3724$xr.257@trnddc03...
Ron Natalie wrote:
Eric Greenwell wrote:

I wonder about this. Does anyone have an idea what percentage of the VFR
airplanes carry a transponder detector, including the low cost units?
I'd guess a majority of them do, but I haven't seen any numbers.

I would think it is actually a tiny fraction. Of all the planes I've
seen or been in over the past year, I can recall only seeing one of
these devices. On the other hand I've been in several with TIS and
one with ADS-B, but even that is a small percentage of the total.

Do you suppose these pilots are using flight following, and decided a PCAS
unit wouldn't improve their odds any? They seem cheap and plentiful, and
airplanes usually fly where there are other airplanes, all with
transponders.

--
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Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA

"Transponders in Sailplanes" on the Soaring Safety Foundation website
www.soaringsafety.org/prevention/articles.html

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