"A Guide to Transponders in Sailplanes" - updated!

On Feb 14, 9:42 pm, Mike the Strike wrote:
Also.....consider, a Transponder equipped aircraft is also REQUIRED to have
the transponder ON and reporting at all times from wheels up to wheels
down......not just as I have heard many glider pilots saying they "only use"
the transponder when they are flying at or near areas of high traffic....
think about this....

A lot of us have thought about this, including people in the FAA, and
decided it's a lot better to have a transponder on in areas that need
it, instead of risking a dead battery (meaning NO radio or
transponder) later in the flight, or discouraging pilots with marginal
batteries from installing a transponder. I covered this in the the
"Guide". Take a look at that section and see if it promotes flight
safety better than strict adherence to the "always on" rule; also,
take a look at the "Why doesn't the SSA ..." section that addresses
the FAA's official position.

This argument seems rather like deciding to put your seat belt on in a
car just before you have a crash!

Anyway, this rule isn't an option, it is mandatory. If you have a
transponder the regs say it MUST be on while you are flying. No pilot
discretion here.

And don't give me the battery argument. Electricity is the fuel for
your instruments, including your safety ones such as the radio and
transponder. In my book, starting a flight with insufficient battery
power is as irresponsible as flying a power plane cross-country with
insufficient fuel.

It's the pilot's responsibility to make sure that he has everything
needed for a safe flight and to comply with regulations and that
includes power for the instruments.

Mike

I should add that the article is excellent - the battery issue and
turning transponders off is the only point that I disagree with. With
a $2,000+ transponder in a $50,000+ sailplane, it seems ironic that
people are too mean to add another $10 battery. A dedicated 7 Ah
battery will power a Microair transponder for 12 to 15 hours, in my
experience. This is a no-brainer.

We have had a collision between an aircraft and a sailplane whose
transponder was turned off "to save the batteries", so this isn't just
a theoretical problem.

Mike