As previously reported, there is a new gadget on the market that may help with search-and-rescue. Glider pilots are beginning to experiment with it as an alternative to Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT) and Personal Locator Beacons (PLB).
Skip is carrying one on his trip to Ohio to pick up his new glider. If he doesn't shut it off, I will put links to various depictions of his progress here:
April 3 - Google Maps
A nice parking space at the motel - Google Earth
April 4 - no updates. His battery must have died.
April 5 - It's going again. Here is his start point: Map, Photo
April 5 - No updates today. I suspect Operator Error.
April 6 - On again, beginning at 11:31 am.
You might be wondering why glider pilots are unhappy with ELTs and PLBs these days. That is a very interesting topic - I hope to write about it in the near future.
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10 comments:
Very cool, I gotta have one.
See Skip drive.
Drive, Skip, drive.
Viva free market solutions!
-T8
I'd like to note that while the SPOT device looks quite interesting and useful, it shouldn't be seen as a replacement for a crash-activated ELT. There are several reasons for this; the most significant is that it's the ELT signal that does more than anything else to mobilize trained searchers.
The time may come when devices like the SPOT accomplish what an ELT now does. That time hasn't arrived yet.
- John Good
This SPOT thing is pretty cool but is just another sneaky way for the feds to track our location. Cell phones, E-Z Pass, credit cards, and the internet are just "Big Brother" using convenience and paranoia (AKA fear) to have citizens willingly carry tracking devices they can use against us. Welcome to 1984.
Operator Error on all counts. The directions say, "First thing, read the directions." They don't say, "Now, turn SPOT on." I needed that.
Anyway, it's light, only $150 to hold AND $150 plus two AA lithium batteries/year for all the fun I had. It must be mounted on the Operator to be of any use in an Emergency. The turtle deck is not an option although the boys@Inside Soaring suggest this as a good place for it on their 3.15 podcast.
Dale Kramer's experience (and he himself@the Soaring Seminar) suggest that this or a similar device needs to be on the pilot within easy reach (not a leg pocket, for instance).
Whether or not this is more or as useful than an ELT is not for me to say. I would surmise from the work that I do, however, that if I cannot press 911 on SPOT, my chances of my benefitting from anyone hurrying to my rescue, possibly at their own peril, is nil.
Welcome home, Skip. We can't wait to see the new glider.
I find I disagree with the point you make in the last paragraph of the previous comment. In fact, I believe the opposite. If you don't survive a crash, it is even more important to the safety of the searchers to have a functional locator beacon. The searchers will put themselves at risk for weeks or months if they don't have good location information.
We should be carrying crash-activated devices, not just to facilitate our own rescues, but also for the sake of the searchers and loved ones.
With the yearly cost added for ten years or so and you are close to the cost of a new 406mhz gps enabled ELT. For crashing a 406mhz ELT w/gps is the best way to go. Use the flight logger for bug racing.
Gregg
I'm all for saving money on equipment.
Rick... you are even weirder than I thought :-).
G. L. Tirebiter
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