Turn coordinator? How dare they!

If soaring is a sport of ladies and gentleman, why ask them to store the one reliable communication device out of reach while flying? Let's think about that for a moment from a safety and general intelligence prospective. What happens of the pilot is forced to bail out and has no cell phone on his person? What happens if the pilot crashes, is injured and cannot move? Perhaps he or she can use their cell phone? There Spot is all but useless, trust me. ;-) Why not allow gentlemen to be gentleman without the overbearing, unenforceable rules? The answer to this question is obvious. KISS.

Ask yourselves this question. Was the pilot in Mifflin last year who crashed in the tree's disqualified for having his cell phone in reach when he was handing in the tree and called his wife? Hmmm? Was he cheating? Why not? What we he have done if he could not have reached his cell phone? Hmm? You cannot imagine how amazed I was that nobody mentioned this. I held back but cannot any longer.

Today, (as far as I am aware) it is ILLEGAL to have a cell or smart phone in the glider in the US during a contest. In or out of reach. I'll pause for a minute. You are asked to instead go "buy a disposable at Walmart (with terrible brand X service and no stored numbers) in order to participate in a US SSA sanctioned sailplane contest." I'll pause again. With that fact now sunk in a bit, it is worth mentioning that absolutely nobody enforces these rules at contests? If that is the case, why have the rule again? Everyone has smart phones, why not simply allow them because LIKE IT OR NOT, EVERYONE IS FLYING WITH THEM ANYWAY AND HAS BEEN FOR YEARS BECAUSE THE RULE IS ANNOYING AND USELESS!



On Thursday, February 21, 2013 10:52:21 PM UTC-5, Richard Walters wrote:
At 21:57 21 February 2013, Don Johnstone wrote:

At 22:21 20 February 2013, Sean F F2 wrote:

Oh yes, Mobile phones are absolutely cardinal sins to the

SSA and US

Rules

Team.



We are all assumed guilty until proven innocent here. The

installation

of

an AH is absolute admission of your intention to cheat.

It has no safety purpose other than to cloud fly and cheat

your opponents

of course.

Given that an iPhone is very small and easily concealed how

does the SSA

get round the 4th amendment. Are they exempt?







Dan and Sean,

In what was formerly a gentlemen and women's sport, we would

ask that cell phones be stored out of reach during flight. No

fourth amendment rights were harmed and a fair competition

could result.

Richard Walters

Regionals and Nationals CD