Doug Haluza wrote:
snoop wrote:
snip
The one item, I'm curious to hear about, if, this item, is on the
Reno/Minden Jeppesen IFR charts. I know it's on the VFR sectionals, but
is there a glider icon on the IFR charts in that region?

Good point about getting the glider symbol on the IFR charts. Most jet
jocks use these almost exclusively. The more we do to raise awareness
the better.

Another way to raise awareness of glider trafiic is to make Pireps. I
try to do this at least once on every good soaring day, especially if
there is wave. Report your aircraft type as simply a Glider (nobody
else will know or care what make/model you are flying). You can just
report clear and 50 mi visibility, or give detailed (and useful) info
on cloud layers and winds aloft. Pireps get wide dissemination to
pilots, ATC and dispatchers, so this is a good way to remind them that
we are out there too. Glider pilots who also fly commercially will
appreciate hearing your Pirep when they are working (try to make them
as jealous as possible by reporting from the top of the climb!). You
can give Pireps to Flight Watch on 122.0 MHz, or you can contact a FSS
or ATC facility on a discrete frequency. Check the AIM for more info on
Pireps.

Another thing you can do is to get VFR flight following if you have a
transponder. Again, just give your aircraft type as a Glider. This lets
pilots and controllers in the section know we are out there. It also
gets you a discrete transponder code. Most ATC sections filter out 1200
VFR codes, and only view aircraft with discrete codes. So in this case,
even if the glider's transponder was on, there is no guarantee that the
controller even saw it, much less gave a traffic warning--they are not
required to warn IFR aircraft of VFR targets anyway.

I know a lot of glider pilots like to stay out of the system. But out
of sight is out of mind.

Doug:

Clearly my article in the July issue of SOARING on transponders fell
shy of the mark I had hoped to hit as far as educating glider pilots
regarding transponders.
There are four symbols generated by ATC computers for transponder
equipped aircraft. One: transponder, no encoder, non discrete, (like
the basic VFR squwak of 1200.) Two: transponder and encoder, non
discrete - again, like the basic VFR squwak of 1200. Three:
transponder, no encoder, (dam few of these out there any more),
discrete as in talking to ATC. and Four: transponder and encoder,
discrete. That is talking to or about to talk to ATC.
Each controller is required by virtue of the ATC handbook, (7110.65 and
the management handbook 7110.3), to display ALL transponder equipped
aircraft. What the controller does have the option to do is adjust the
filter limits at his scope to exclude the encoded altitude of aircraft
which are not in his assigned airspace.
Had the transponder been turned on by the pilot involved in the
mid-air, the jet would have seen the glider on it's TCAS, and ATC
would have been issuing the glider as traffic to the jet. In the Reno
area, most glider pilots are squawking an non discrete code which
indicates to ATC that they are a glider.