On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 00:01:20 GMT, David Megginson
wrote:

Paul Sengupta wrote:

You're supposed to turn your strobes off in the clouds as the
reflection can be blindingly bright.

Actually, I think that the reason was the people mistakenly believed that
the strobes reflecting off the clouds could cause vertigo or seizures.
That's recently been debunked (unless you're epileptic, of course), but I do
not remember the source offhand.

That may have been debunked but I can point to a number of local
pilots, including me, who have found the strobes to be a bit more than
unsetteling in some clouds. It has noting to do with epilictcy
either. It's not the flashing rate, it's the stroboscopic effect like
you see in some night clubs. It makes you dizzy just trying to walk.
It there is texture to the clouds the strobes can easily create an
effect much like the "leans" you get from the same kind of clouds in
the day.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com


Day or night, the reflection of my strobes in cloud has never been a problem
-- it's not even enough to affect my night vision.


All the best,


David