US ELT Installation

Hi All,

As I understand the racing rules for 2006, the SSA has decided to
mandate ELT installation for all competitors. The ELT must be
permanently mounted inside the glider. Personal ELTs will not suffice.
This is all complicated by the FAA's decision to obsolete some existing
ELT frequencies in the coming years.

With the decision made, I wonder if the ruling has been well thought
out. The question is how will each contest organizer verify that the
ELT installation is actually functional since some gliders are type
certificated and others have experimental certification?

From an owners perspective, installation could be troublesome since
many newer gliders are made of Carbon Fiber which limits installation
choices and could lead to some "kludged" installations in
experimentally certificated gliders.

In discussions with US based glider factory reps, it appears that the
European manufacturer's have not uniformly accounted for this rule
change in their basic offering. When asked about installed ELT
antennas, the response has been Hmm.

So the question is how does one retrofit an ELT solution to an existing
glider and how does one specify an installation for a new glider?

Additionally, how does the SSA insure that the installations done for
the 2006 racing season actually work versus merely demonstrating that
an "expensive" new box has been permanently mounted inside the
fuselage?

All thought and feedback appreciated.

mhr