Feds Want to Equipe Gliders With Transponders and Radios

If this is implemented, will it affect powered aircraft without
electrical systems too?

How much does the gliders right-of-way over powered aircraft affect
this issue?

Is ATC going to take legal and financial responsibility for separation
if gliders are mandated to be so equipped and operated?

Is the big-sky-theory a myth?


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http://www.examiner.com/a-1314730~Fe...Gliders.ht ml

Feds Call for Alerts on All Air Gliders
Apr 1, 2008 5:28 PM (25 days ago) By SCOTT SONNER, AP

RENO, Nev. (Map, News) - All gliders should be required to operate
with devices that alert air traffic controllers and other aircraft to
their presence, federal regulators recommended Tuesday, citing 60
near-collisions over the past two decades.

Gliders and other aircraft without engine-driven electrical systems
are exempt from a rule the Federal Aviation Administration imposed in
1988 requiring transponders for aircraft that operate near primary
airports and in airspace above 10,000 feet.

NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker recommended in a March 31 letter to the
board that the glider exemption be eliminated in part because of an
NTSB investigation into a collision between a glider and a private jet
about 40 miles southeast of Reno in August 2006.

In that case, the glider pilot - who parachuted to safety - had a
transponder on his aircraft but had turned it off to conserve battery
power. The Hawker 800XP airplane he collided with was significantly
damaged but was able to land safely at Reno-Tahoe International
Airport.

"As evidenced by this accident, aircraft that are not using or not
equipped with transponders and are operating in areas transited by air
carrier traffic represent a collision hazard," Rosenker wrote in the
letter first made public on Tuesday.

"This hazard has persisted more than 20 years since the Safety Board
initially expressed concern," he said.

Many gliders object to required use of transponders, saying they are
expensive and energy-consuming.

Of the 60 near mid-air collisions from 1988 to 2007, nine occurred in
northern Nevada. That's due primarily to the large number of gliders
that fly along the Sierra's eastern front where thermal air flows
create what enthusiasts describe as "world-class" gliding conditions.

Other frequent sites of near-collisions were Chicago and Washington,
D.C., with four each. Colorado Springs, Colo., had three.

More than 10 years before the latest incident, the FAA's Reno Flight
Standards District Office...

The FAA has 90 days to respond to the NTSB's recommendations, FAA
spokesman Ian Gregor said.

"We take NTSB recommendations very seriously," he said from Los
Angeles.

Leaders of the Soaring Society of America, based in Hobbs, N.M., and
other gliding enthusiasts oppose the NTSB's move. They advocate
alternatives including increasing awareness among pilots of areas
where gliders are often in use and implementing technology already
used in some parts of Europe that provides low-cost, real-time
information to pilots....

Most modern gliders have solar-powered batteries that help conserve
power, but even those don't help on longer flights, which can stretch
eight hours and cover 500 miles, he said.

"Having a transponder on all the time becomes a real problem with
energy conservation on your glider," he said.

Fred La Sor, an owner of Soaring NV in Minden who helped develop new
safety plans for the Reno area after the last accident, said it costs
$2,200 to $3,000 to put transponders on most gliders.

Besides, he said, most collisions or close calls involve not a glider
and a jet, but two gliders - something he said transponders would not
affect.