Strobe light on glider

What about this option from DG, or whatever they're called this week?
"Flashlight"
Probably looks like Wudolph the Wed Nosed Weindeer!
Jim

http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/en/dg-a...etter+1+2017+e

Yehudi lights are to make a dark airplane blend into bright sky. A glider is not very dark. I certainly have no ownership in strobes, while not a cheap option, I have had enough close calls and one paint scrape, that I have a Flarm, Mode-S, strobe and 20-15 vision. If you hit me I will be ****ed! While I have not seen a strobe equipped glider, except for one N4DM that had a strobe mounted on turtle deck, I could certainly see that flash, but I could see the 26.5 meter wings too. I do know that anything unusual can get your attention, like a glint of reflection, a strobe, a maneuver etc. It is hardly worth debating the merits without empirical data and test assumptions. I merely posted the video. On ground if I turn on my strobe in very bright light it really shows well and as I said others say it is bright, have o idea if they see the strobe or glider first. I do know added high visibility devices does not hurt your visibility.


On Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 10:20:29 AM UTC-8, Paul Agnew wrote:
My Google Fu is strong today. I found a Wiki page about the use of counter-illumination for camouflage that was quite interesting to read.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehudi_lights

From what I'm reading, the brightness of the strobes could work against you as counter-illumination if they are not significantly brighter than the surrounding sky. On a bright, blue sky day, would a bright strobe strip help or hurt your visibility. As I said in my previous post...counter-intuitive...

Paul A.
Treasure Coast Soaring Club
Vero Beach, FL
@TCSoaring on Facebook

On Tuesday, 24 January 2017 19:12:54 UTC+1, Paul Agnew wrote:
I remember watching a documentary on WWII camouflage techniques and am reminded of one counter-intuitive technique that actually used bright lights in daylight to make equipment on the horizon visually disappear. I often ponder the true effectiveness of running with lights on in small powered planes during the day and whether there have been any studies to support the validity of this practice.

Now, you've got me wondering about the effectiveness of bright strobe strips during daylight flights.

Hmmm...

Paul A.
Treasure Coast Soaring Club
Vero Beach, FL

My guess is that strobe helps to see a glider under the cloud base. Also helps during sunset.