ELT Required for all SSA sanctioned contests starting 2006

Sarbe make a range of beacons, easily confused. Some
are activated by immersion [and are buoy packs for
marine use] and some are 'personal' items stowed on
the pilot or in an ejection seat cushion. Their brochure
states that the operation is 'compatible' with automatic
activation. Translated, that means it is operated
by pulling a pin; the pin can be pulled manually, or
by a static line attached between the ejection seat
and the aircraft, or by some unspecified G-sensitive
device not part of the unit.

G-sensitive devices are not too reliable - it depends
on the direction as well as the energy of the force
at impact. Flying into a brick wall or hitting the
ground in a vertical dive will certainly trigger it;
a hard landing may or may not; a low speed mush into
treetops or a BRS-assisted landing may or may not.


To think that either a PLB or an ELT will always operate
in a glider crash is wishful thinking. However, if
a PLB [the manufacturer's term] such as the Sarbe
series is good enough for NATO military use, it's certainly
good enough for me. Unfortunately, not cheap enough
!

In terms of value, a PLB with 406 capability and built-in
GPS is available now for around $600 from several sources.
An ELT with only 121.5 can be had for less than $200.
I'd pay the extra for the much greater PLB effectiveness.

As for the peace of mind issue, if someone goes missing
and an ELT is activated, his condition and whereabouts
are still unknown until the searches [for glider and
then for pilot] are completed. If he carries a PLB
and activates it manually, his condition and whereabouts
are quickly [a matter of minutes] known. If he carries
a PLB but is unable to activate it, then his condition
is also known and knowledge of his whereabouts is secondary.

As an aside, JJ might have an opinion about whether
the peace of mind issue might be more pertinent to
finish gates and procedures...

Ian




At 19:54 08 September 2005, Don Johnstone wrote:
At 18:06 08 September 2005, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Don Johnstone wrote:

There is no mix up of terms. The Sarbe GR2 series
of
Personal Locator Beacons, that is the ones you carry
do have a G switch to trigger the unit in the event
of a crash (or ejection). Details at http://www.sarbe.com/g2r.ht

m.
From the menu on that page you can select Datasheet
which gives details.

Are you sure it is crash activated? Or is it activated
by the G loads
when the pilot ejects? I couldn't determine that from
the brochure.

Both, and immersion in water and pulling the pin.