More Scarry Stuff

[J.C.]

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[J.C.]

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[steveneale]

One solution would be to pay for all of us to fit a TCAS system.

However some bean counter would probably calculate it's cheaper to pay out for knocking down the occasional
GA aircraft than pay for that or develop a system to try to avoid us.

Even cheaper still would be for CAA to simply give them right of way over everything else then it's our problem.
They wouldn't do that though (would they?):shock:

[Dave Hall]

... you mean like gliders, Steve? At least the UVA's would probably be on a mission with a relatively constant heading and speed, rather than cartwheeling about the sky!

[Andrew Leak]

Steady on DaveH! I fly gliders as well as light aircraft and to be honest it's the 'heads down staring at the GPS catatonic brigade' flying light aircraft that are a danger to everyone..Don't start blaming gliders, remember they don't have a purring fan at the front keeping them up, we have regular infringers on our gliding site - mainly from GA! Regarding UAV's we are still under the threat of losing our site to these robotic over-size model aircraft, not a good subject for my club right now. 'nuff said.

[Will Greenwood]

Blimey, whatever next, don't look outside, block your ears to the radio, and stick your head beetween yor legs... oh come on lads!

Will.

[Dave Hall]

There was more than a little twinkle in my eye as I posted that, but I have been surprised on occasion by a glider appearing suddenly, despite keeping a good lookout.

During training we are taught to go through a HASELL procedure before doing stalls and steep turns, then a clearing turn to check there's no-one near, and a HELL when repeating them. Many gliders are the colour of clouds and can, and do, appear suddenly - sometimes out of cloud - and not usually straight and level. I treat glider sites with the same respect as I would any other airfield - actually more respect since they often have an active height well above most airfields. Gliders don't only fly in the marked area on the chart - I doubt many would take up the hobby if that were the case!

I entirely agree with you about the heads-down brigade, and personally enjoy VFR flight and traditional navigation techniques, with the odd round dial to assist.

[steveneale]

Not convinced lookout will be enough. I guess the problem is we don't know how big these things will be. If it's the size of the US Predator then we are as likely to see it as we are a PA28. Some I've seen on the box though are much smaller and our typical 3 seconds to react is reduced pro rata. If it's seagull size we see em about a second before we are past. Even if it were as small as a seagull it will still make a bigger mess of a wing or prop than a bird as it will have hard stuff like an engine.

[J.C.]

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[Bob F]

We have been posting about UAVs but I picked up on this today which could become UAAs.

Unmanned airship passes test
A new generation BAE Systems airship that could benefit the emergency services by remotely monitoring disasters and help support major sporting events, has successfully completed its first remotely piloted test flight at the Lindstrand Technologies test facility at Birkenhead. This is the first step towards making the GA22 airship a fully unmanned autonomous system. Not only is it made of newer lighter material than any previous airship, but it’s significantly smaller than the majority of its competitors yet delivers the same high level of performance."

Hey, it could be Unmanned Gliders next, suppose that would make UAGs!

Scarry stuff.

Bob F
AKA Bob Farrell in the real world