On Sunday, June 10, 2012 1:43:00 PM UTC-7, Chris wrote:
Ramy wrote:

I think short of something like FLARM, the only thing which could have
prevented this would have been better situational awareness of which other
giders were working in the same area.

I can only support this. Looking out is the first thing to do. But FLARM
really can help to save your day (maybe your life). I had a near miss
yesterday. FLARM did indicate traffic right of my course. Still not seeing
the other glider, I did a left turn. In the same moment the other glider
passed me in a distance of maybe two wingspans.

These little boxes really work. Everyone who can afford a glider of some
1000 $ or ? can also afford another some 100.
Chris

Few weeks ago I had the opportunity to see how head on target looks like. I could see the other glider couple of miles away since he was banking, but once he leveled off and headed directly towards me, the wings completely disappeared and all I could see was a little dot for his cockpit. The dot was not moving and only slowly growing (at the beginning). There was no way I would have noticed this dot while scanning if he did not bank before. I did not remove my focus from the dot so not to loose sight, and asked him on the radio if he sees me at 12 o'clock. He didn't until I banked away 10-15 sec before we crossed each other. If I didnt see him we would have cleared each other by few feet since he was slightly lower. This convinced me how difficult it is to see another aircraft, especially white slick glider, which is in collision course. Sure we always easily see other aircrafts, but they are not in collision course and as such are moving targets which our eye can detect much easier, or they are banking which makes it easier to see.

I have now personally known or met 5 pilots who were involved in mid airs in the last 3 years or so. So much for the claim that it is a rare event. We are all attracted to the same small energy lines and as such the sky is not as big for us as it is for other aircrafts. This mid air happened in a small gathering with less than 6 gliders in the air, not a big contest.

Ramy

Ramy