boulder mid-air

On Feb 7, 10:14*pm, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Mike Schumann wrote:

*From the description the Cirrus pilot was just not looking and in
effect just walked
out into the road without looking to see whether a car was coming. *I
don't
want to be insensitive to the family of the Cirrus pilot, but the
fault was his
and not the fact that glider activity was present. *In my experience,
many IFR pilots
just don't look out for VFR traffic and expect ATC to keep them clear
of ALL traffic.
Is that stressed enough in IFR training? ( I know this is before any
NTSB ruling
and is based on hearsay evidence only.)
The reality is that other aircraft are difficult to see, even if you
know where to look. *What is very frustrating is that affordable ADS-B
technology exists that could have prevented this accident.
Unfortunately commercialization is being delayed by the FAA's
obsession with IFR ADS-B applications, while certification standards
for low cost VFR devices are on the back burner.

And $500 PCAS units have been for sale for several years. I wonder if a
PCAS in one or more of the aircraft involved would have averted the
accident.
- -

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

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

Maybe Eric, BUT I've got one that I use in my Cessna 180 (Zoan) and
I've watched several planes fly by relatively close with no indication
on the unit. I don't trust it.

On Feb 8, 8:43*am, glidergeek wrote:
Maybe Eric, BUT I've got one that I use in my Cessna 180 (Zoan) and
I've watched several planes fly by relatively close with no indication
on the unit. I don't trust it.-

If by "trust it" you expect it to alert you to all threat traffic then
that lack of trust is very healthy. I don't trust mine to alert me to
all traffic either. It certainly cannot alert for an aircraft with no
transponder, or an aircraft with the transponder off, or standby, and
probably not mode A. Mine does alert me traffic I may not otherwise
have spotted and I find it a very useful augmentation to the "see" of
see and avoid.

Last weekend I found myself surprised by a head on same altitude
threat while flying my PA-28. I didn't see the other aircraft until
we were about 10 seconds from collison and he showed no sign of ever
seeing me. PCAS did not alert me and I don't know why. I still don't
plan on flying without it.

Andy

glidergeek wrote:
On Feb 7, 10:14 pm, Eric Greenwell wrote:

Mike Schumann wrote

The reality is that other aircraft are difficult to see, even if you
know where to look. What is very frustrating is that affordable ADS-B
technology exists that could have prevented this accident.
Unfortunately commercialization is being delayed by the FAA's
obsession with IFR ADS-B applications, while certification standards
for low cost VFR devices are on the back burner.

And $500 PCAS units have been for sale for several years. I wonder if a
PCAS in one or more of the aircraft involved would have averted the
accident.



Maybe Eric, BUT I've got one that I use in my Cessna 180 (Zoan) and
I've watched several planes fly by relatively close with no indication
on the unit. I don't trust it.

Mine alerts me to some aircraft I don't see. I don't expect it to
discover everything, so I do look around, and I carry a transponder,
MRX, and a radio. It's a pretty good system for $3000 (eyeballs free).
I've been using the eyeballs and a radio for 30 years, the transponder
for 8, the MRX for 2. I'm glad I don't have to depend on eyes alone anymore.

And I'm still wondering if a PCAS in any or all of the aircraft could
have averted the disaster. $500 each would be cheap it would work in
that situation.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA

* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

Eric Greenwell wrote:
And I'm still wondering if a PCAS in any or all of the aircraft could
have averted the disaster. $500 each would be cheap it would work in
that situation.

Just FYI, here's an article discussing the Traffic Avoidance Systems
commonly installed on many Cirrus aircraft:
http://www.theflightacademy.com/pres...lot_Nov_06.pdf

It is possible that the model involved had a TIS - which may not have been
helpful in this case.