Transponders Above Class C Airspace

Tuno wrote:
My experience mirrors P3's.

Had a flight a few years ago where I had to overfly the El Paso Class
C. Phone call the day before, radio contact 10 miles out and all the
way across. They were very polite and helpful.

I have a new glider coming in a few months and I'm really torn on
whether to get a transponder ... my first glider didn't have one, my
current one does, but I'm not satisfied it's worth the expense and
power drain, which is a real concern on long flights ... by the
current regs I do not have the option of leaving it turned off if I
have battery power.

I know the FAA doesn't expect you to leave your transponder on until you
kill the battery, thereby losing the transponder AND your radio. If this
is the only regulation you knowingly break, the FAA and your fellow
pilots will think you are a saint! Better a transponder part of the time
than no transponder at all.

If the decision is really causing you heartburn, order the glider with a
transponder antenna installed (it's a lot cheaper and easier that way),
but no transponder. Put a Zaon MRX transponder detector or similar on
top of the glare sheild when you get the glider. It does a good job of
alerting a pilot to transponder equipped aircraft, and if you later
decide you want that transponder after all, the MRX still continue to
alert you, a job a transponder doesn't do.


--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org