I hope you meant Virginia City

Has anyone found a cheap transponder that doesnt draw 2 or 3 amps? I
find it hard to justify paying half the money i spent on my glider for
a transponder. of course I see the advantages of having one and
certainly dont want to end up a splintered hole in the ground.

JJ Sinclair wrote:
Hi Tim,
Let's analyze what happened to you. A professional med-evac pilot had a
close encounter with a glider (you) and reported it to TRACON. The
conversation probably went something like this, "Ogden, I just came
real close to a glider". What was implied, but not said was, I'm on a
IFR flight plan with flight following, in your area, What's going on
down there?
The controller probably replied, "I'll check into it, Sir". We can be
certain what he didn't say, "Yeah, we can't see those gliders, but they
have several waivers and letters of agreement with us. Looks like
everybody was legal. Sorry about that".
We have the same problems here with 3 active glider operations around
Reno International Airport. While monitoring Reno approach control, I
heard an inbound airliner blurt out, "There's a glider out here". Yep,
it was me, just outside class C airspace over Vagina City. On another
occasion I heard the sound of jet engines getting louder as I
frantically turned and tried to find the source of the noise.
So, what can we do? What we're doing right now, clearly isn't working.
We might be right (legal), but I don't want to be dead-right. The
controllers can't see us. Aircraft with TCAS can't paint us. The
solution is clear, those of us who operate around controlled airspace
like Salt Lake City and Reno must transmitt our location and altitude
to those charged with keeping seperation between all aircraft in their
area of responsibility. I'm installing a transponder and a PCAS. Glider
pilots around Reno without transponders are becoming a minority.
John Sinclair


Tim Taylor wrote:
On a recent flight on December 15th I had an interesting experience
with our local Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) group at Salt
Lake City. I was on the final leg of a 500K ridge flight that took me
through the 30nm Mode C veil several times. I monitor Approach Control
frequencies and Ogden Airport Tower when I am passing through the 30
veil and near Ogden. I usually don't try to report positions all the
time, but do give traffic advisors if I hear that any traffic may be in
my area. As I was ridge running on the rocks on a day with 30+ mph
winds and not in an area that power pilots were likely to want to be I
was mostly just monitoring during the flight.

I was just leaving Ogden Peak headed north when I heard a life flight
heli report they were going to be passing a few miles behind me. I
contacted Ogden Tower and gave them a traffic advisory of where I was
and my heading. The tower reported no conflicting traffic in my area
and thanked me for the advisory. A minute later he called me back and
said the TRACON had requested that I call them when I land. I asked if
he knew why, but all he could say was they requested I call.

As always any request like this is an unpleasant addition to your day.
I was sinking down the ridge and not focused on flying like I should
while trying to run through the flight in my mind to think of anything
I had done that would get me in trouble. The flight path I use on this
section of the ridge is technical and requires flight deep into the
mode C veil and a long section under class B airspace. I had been
careful to keep clear on all four passes under the class B. I had to
push it all out of my mind and focus on the last 50 miles home.

Once down I stopped by the local FBO to check the FAR/AIM so I would
have all the correct sections in case I was dealing with someone who
did not know the exceptions for gliders in the mode C veil. I called
and was put on hold the first time and asked to call back in a few
minutes. I was half tempted to say I had tried and leave it at that.
I decided I would try one more time and called back. I got someone to
answer this time and asked if they could tell me why I had been asked
to call. He asked who I was and rather than give my name I said I was
the glider pilot. He said the reason they asked me to call was it was
dangerous for me to fly where I was. I responded that I was aware of
traffic and was very vigilant when in the area. He asked if I had a
two-way radio. I wanted to reply, "duh, how did you know I was there
to begin with" but I was good and said yes and that I monitor 121.1
approach frequency and Ogden Tower when I am in the area. He said that
I had the right to fly there to which I replied yes I did thank you.

When I do call and give traffic advisories they seem to be fairly
uninterested to know where we are. The attitude appears to be we
don't want you near our airspace. SLC has four glider operations
surrounding it, with two of them inside the Mode C veil. Is this type
of intimidation common around other airports? I found it rather odd to
be requested to call when I had done nothing wrong.

Tim