JJ Sinclair wrote:
Hi Gang, me again.
Let's be realistic about ELT's. Automatic activation in a crash situation has
got to have a very low sucess probability. The ship and therefore the ELT
antenna, may very well be upside down. The ELT may be damaged in the crash. At
best, we can't expect a search plane on scene in anything less than 24 hours.

At best, how about less than an hour? Happened to a friend of mine when
he crashed his glider. It wasn't a search plane, but an officer on the
ground sent to check on the ELT signal. It can be much longer, of course.

So what's our best way to communicate a distress signal? I would think it's our
aircraft radio.

If the glider is upside down, or the crash was so severe the ELT was
damaged, it seems this is unlikely to be successful, because the radio,
batteries, wiring, and antenna will be probably be damaged. An ELT is
much more rugged than the normal VHF radio system. An ELT would've still
functioned in the crash near Hemet, while the glider radio didn't. Had
the crash disabled the pilot, it wouldn't matter if the VHF radio still
worked, while the ELT would've activated.

These considerations, plus the ability to fly my motorglider when no
other glider pilots are flying, and the ability to fly out of range of
my crew radio, led me to install an ELT. An ELT is not perfect, but it's
not expensive over it's lifetime of, say, 15 years: $15-$30/year for the
unit including battery changes.

JJ's comments for coping with the situation (no ELT, no cell phone
contact, no portable VHF) make good sense, however. I would add a signal
mirror to his parachute pack.

Transmit on 123.3 and 123.5 to your buddies or anyone who
answers. The local soaring operation should send out a search plane in the
evening. In a contest, you can expect a search to be activated about 7:30 in
the evening. I think it would be a good idea to carry a hand-held radio, as a
back-up. If your aircraft radio is functioning (transmit light on) but the
antenna lead is broken, then I would pull out as much wire (RG-58) as I could
and strip away 24 inches of the outside (grounding) shield. Then get your new
antenna as high as possible. The survivor that started this thread, could have
done this and then tied the end of his antenna to a parachute shroud line and
the other end to a stone. Toss the rock over a tree branch and start calling,
MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY on all frequencies that might have listeners. Don't
forget about 121.5 (emergency freq) To conserve your battery, the best time to
brodcast is 15 to 18 and 45 to 48 minutes after the hour. Any SAR forces will
be listening at these times.

I cary a small survival kit with 2 quarts of bottled water in my ship, but what
if I bailout? So, I just added several book matches and a very thin pocket
knife to my parachute inspection pouch holder. With that parachute, a knife and
matches, I feel I would have a fighting chance.

Now, lets all conduct our soaring activities in a manor that doesn't require
any of the above.
JJ Sinclair