On Monday, May 4, 2015 at 5:02:29 PM UTC-5, Mike Schumann wrote:

You are totally mistaken that everyone who installs ADS-B OUT needs to have a Mode C or Mode S transponder. For starters, gliders are totally exempt from both the ADS-B OUT and transponder mandates. That also applies to all other aircraft that either do not have electrical systems, or operate outside of the Mode C veil and below 10,000 ft.

Oh get real, Mike. The subset of aircraft that are exempt from the transponder mandate that will bother to put anykind of ADS-B is pretty small. At best, there will be a relatively cheap battery-powered system developed that will fill that niche (ultralights, powered chutes - and maybe some training gliders/towplanes. But for the rest of the aviation world, the need to fly above 10,000 and in Class C/B airspace means transponders. And if you don't need to fly there, they won't bother with any ADS-B - heck, many club gliders in the US don't even have radios!


With the cost of ADS-B OUT UAT transceivers dropping below $1,000 it is totally conceivable that a significant number of glider pilots will buy these systems and not invest an extra $2K in a transponder. Some pilots may elect to invest in portable UAT transceivers that they can share in a club environment.

You need more than just the transceivers - you need the control interface and the display system - AND an electrical system to power it. All that for less than $1000? I hope so, but I'm not holding my breath!


This will not make the glider visible to today's airliner TCAS systems, but it will make the glider visible on ATC radar. Hopefully ATC will have the common sense to vector any traffic around you. In addition, the UAT transceiver equipped glider will clearly see the big iron traffic and be able to stay out of the way.

So, if my concern is about fast movers (out West, or near a Class B airport, I'm still better off with a Mode S transponder, and eventually add the ADS-B ES kit to get full ADS-B if I want the weather. And sure, if the magical cheap UAT device starts popping up in all the flying machines in my vicinity, then I would get one too. But until all this fantasy gear is reality, I'll continue to be protected by my PowerFLARM.

And again: Would you please spec out for me your idea of an actual UAT-based ADS-B system (hardware, software, cost) that one can buy TODAY and install in their glider, that provides at least as much situational awareness as the PowerFLARM has been providing me for the past 3 years? So far, all I see is talk - but nothing remotely useful coming out of your mouth. Step up, man!

Kirk
66