BGMIFF wrote:
You guys are all missing the point. if you have ever been to a contest that
unfortunately suffers a fatality, you will all quit typing and buy and ELT
immediately. Trust me, the wisdom of this has been thouroughly reviewed by
the rules comittee. Well said 9B!

I have been to a contest with a fatality, and no one even thought about
buying an ELT. It happened near the airport. Does one fatality near the
airport in a contest area (Ephrata, WA) in 30 years justify mandatory
ELTs for everyone? I don't think so, especially since our area is 95%+
open rolling hills that are easy to search. Here's my proposal:

1) The Rules Committee promotes and encourages ELT use. If this is a
good idea, it can be sold, though it might take a few years to get close
to 100% usage at contests.

2) The rules allow any contest director to require an ELT as a condition
of entry. This lets the CD to make the tradeoff between potentially
fewer entries and the amount of grief and anguish the contest operations
people are willing to risk. After all, the ELT is being installed for
THEIR benefit, so they should have a say in the value of this benefit.

3) The pilot is encouraged to discuss the cost of the ELT and it's
benefit with the pilot's spouse and other family members. It is for
THEIR benefit that the ELTs are being mandated, so they should have a
choice on spending their dollars for it, or for some other benefit.

Personally, I fly with a mounted ELT, mostly because it makes my wife
feel better about the extensive cross-country flying I do (it might
possibly even help me, if I survive the crash). It can be activated
manually, so I don't have to depend on impact.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA