On Monday, July 2, 2018 at 7:45:06 AM UTC-5, Dave Walsh wrote:
It's tricky, perhaps impossible, to retro fit a BRS to a
DG1001M or DG808C type sailplane with a pylon mounted
engine. So I'd say the NOAH system was a sensible alternative
given the pilot(s) would be wearing conventional parachutes.
In the absence of BRS equipped sailplanes for sale NOAH
seems to me a very desirable option.
Clearly if the major glider manufacturers offered BRS this
would be better still.
Whether DG purchasers see NOAH as "half baked" is an
interesting question. My guess is that the majority of
purchasers never believe they will have a mid-air collision or
structural failure and so just choose to save themselves
8,000€.

The idea that "cost" is a significant factor in fitting BRS
systems in gliders is simply woefully ill-informed.
A new single seat sailplane is perhaps 100K€ - 200K€?
A new two seat self launch is perhaps 180K€ - 300K€?
A new BRS is perhaps 7K€? This is less than the cost of an
upmarket variometer system!
And the true cost of one life lost is...well look it up on the
internet, it's a surprisingly high figure.
Dave W






I think that the lack of enthusiasm for NOAH isn't the cost, but the lack of a perceived advantage. If you have a midair or a control problem at a high enough altitude where bailing out is an option, many pilots don't think they'll have a problem getting out of the cockpit.

If you have a midair in the pattern, you're so low that NOAH isn't going to help. A BRS system on the other hand can save you. If you look at accident statistics, a lot of midairs occur at these altitudes. Pilots understand this, and manufacturers like Cirrus and Phoenix have demonstrated that they are willing to pay to improve their odds in these types of accidents.