Emergency instrumentation for cloud encounters

On Tue, 21 Apr 2015 18:55:53 -0700, mark821ac wrote:

How do you guys avoid midairs when climbing in cloud? Does everyone
circle left? I can't see even Flarm saving you.

1) FLARM still works in cloud, so when you're close under one with no
gliders in sight but FLARM shows a glider above you, that is a
pretty good clue.

2) You should make a radio call on the XC/cloud flying frequency[1]
giving your intentions and position. Anybody else who is nearby
should respond with their details. If FLARM shows a glider above
you in cloud, frankly you're an idiot if you don't make that call
before switching on the T&B etc.

3) Clouds are much bigger than gliders so the chances of a collision
are relatively low (the big sky theory of collision risk): its
your choice whether you take that risk or stay out of cloud.

[1] In the UK 130.4 MHz is reserved for XC message passing and cloud
flying. I don't know if other countries have similar arrangements.


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martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
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