Weak Radios and VFR pilots who forget the Visual part

[StewartB]

That TCAS idea? What are the chances that these no-radio guys you're complaining about are driving around with accurately reporting Mode C pinging?

The problem with TCAS is the same problem you have with radios. Just because you don't hear or see somebody with your electronics doesn't mean they're not there. Yet you relax because you have the electronics?

I make myself seen. I make myself heard. I assume the other guys don't have lights and radios and behave accordingly. That's all I can do.

SB

 

[mvivion]

I would also respectfully remind you "Gotta have a radio" types that there are pilots out there, indeed COMMERCIAL, working pilots out there, who are operating under a SODA, because they are DEAF.

As in--they cannot hear, and oftentimes cannot speak, because they've been deaf since birth.

Note also that a number of the spray planes I've seen around here simply do not have Aviation Comm radios installed.

I agree that radios are a great idea, and I don't like operating without one. The point is that it is not a criminal act, nor is it irresponsible to operate without one at uncontrolled airports.

Keep your eyes open, folks.

MTV

 

[Dan2+2]

Heck My icom a3 does put out or at least the tower operator says it is loud and clear and the other local guys say so too. It is wired to 12 volts tho. There are 5 ultralight guys in my area that don't have radios or pilots license who were taught by guys who do not have radios or license. They don't even know there are rules that govern airspace. They think radio comes in am/fm xm etc but never HEARD of nav/com. I am an eye doctor by profession and have examined the eyes of a couple and they can't see very well and never wear there glasses. They can't hear or see you. So that leaves it up to me to avoid them.

 

[behindpropellers]

There are 5 ultralight guys in my area that don't have radios or pilots license who were taught by guys who do not have radios or license. They don't even know there are rules that govern airspace.

Thats why they have a sport pilot rule now..to control those idiots!

 

[Clyde and Susan]

I think there is one thing that's been overlooked in this thread. It is not so much the radio power output that matters; one watt is usually more than enough for line-of-sight communication. All more power does is give you the edge when two are transmitting at once.

What ever the radio power output is, it must be cleanly modulated near 100 percent. Too many folks wear their microphone just like they do in the movies, two or three inches from their face. Got to be able to see their face, you know!

A good aircraft microphone has a noise cancelling feature. There are two ports arranged so that sound from a distance enters both ports at the same level and cancels at the mike element. Sound that enters one port at a higher level than the other is not canceled and is picked up by the mike element, converted into an electrical current so it can be amplified and used to modulate the AM carrier. Thats why you must have the sound port of the microphone touching your upper lip as you speak.

The side-tone is what you hear when you are transmitting. Listen to that and get some idea of how your voice stacks up against the background noise.

A well designed handheld radio connected to an outside antenna and to a quality noise cancelling microphone will sound just as good as a built in radio if the microphone is used properly.

So much for transmitting; when it comes to receiving, it is all about signal-to noise ratio. Most radios have a noise filter. Using that to lessen the noise you hear from a noisy ignition will make it easier on your ears but will not do much to improve the reception of weaker signals. Get a shielded ignition system if you want to hear all of the radio traffic. You can adjust the squelch so you don't hear the noise generated in your own airplane but you will squelch all but the strongest signals as well.

I am sorry to get so wordy but I guess bad mike use is a pet peeve. While I am thinking of pet peeves, how often have you heard a tower operator announce, "There is a stuck mike on the frequency, please check your mikes"? The only one that can't hear that is the guy with a stuck mike. ...Clyde

 

[zane]

That TCAS idea? What are the chances that these no-radio guys you're complaining about are driving around with accurately reporting Mode C pinging?

It's not a solution to the NORDO issue, it's just one more way to be alerted to possible close traffic...the impudent Bonanza Carey mentioned above for instance.

Personally, I have good vision and I have a hard time spotting traffic in some conditions, no matter how actively I scan. A little device like this is not something to depend on, but it helps. Combo of radio communication, visual scanning, and a Trafficwatch only helps that much more.

 

[StewartB]

How many times have you had your transponder checked and found it was reporting the correct altitude? Have you ever had it checked? Have all those other planes?

Incorrect information is nothing more than a dangerous distraction.

TCAS in my world is just another video game that keeps pilots from looking outside.

Clyde,
My pet peeve is the fact that pilots inaccurately report their positions. They don't seem to comprehend that your reporting point is what's under your wheels, not what's 3 to 5 miles in front of you. Once again, inaccurate information is a dangerous distraction.

Stewart

 

[zane]

TCAS in my world is just another video game that keeps pilots from looking outside.

It's a passive box that beeps a warning if traffic comes within a certain distance of you. Maybe it's traffic that you haven't spotted with your super vision, or traffic that is descending on your from behind. Not much to look at there, I can't understand why anyone would say that is a bad idea.

 

[StewartB]

TCAS doesn't alert you of the proximity of other airplanes, it alerts you to the reported position of an operating Mode C transponder. Off the top of my head, I'd guess that the Anchorage terminal area GA users that utilize transponders are a minority. Most planes at Merrill and Hood are not transponder equipped. Of the planes that are equipped, I doubt many have complied with the requirement to recertify their pitot-static systems. That's my world. Maybe Oregon is different.

Stewart

 

[Snert]

Poorman,s TCAS : Take a ten yr old with you and give them a buck for every airplane they see that you don't.

 

[zane]

This is not a TCAS system in the "approved TCAS" sense AFAIK. The Monroy uses a combination of signal strength and Mode C reporting to calculate proximity, not Mode C data alone, which would only give you altitude information, however erroneous.

If an aircraft has no transponder... it does you no good and hopefully your visual scan will prevail on those hazy days.

Oregon is not much different in that we have few controlled fields, only 1 Class C, and plenty of aircraft that are not transponder-equipped. My whole point all along has been that it is just an extra measure. It pays for itself when it beeps when some tight-lipped pilot in his IFR hotrod runs up on me from behind on a smokey day.

I'm not affiliated with Monroy, nor do I own one yet. I just think it's a relatively cheap safety measure.

 

[StewartB]

It would be like a gas gauge that reads quarter full. I might have a quarter tank. I might have a half tank. Hey, I might have more. Or...the gauge might read empty when I have half tanks...or I might have quarter tanks...or.....I might really be empty.

Spare me the drama. I'm not interested.

SB

 

[zane]

It would be like a gas gauge that reads quarter full. I might have a quarter tank. I might have a half tank. Hey, I might have more. Or...the gauge might read empty when I have half tanks...or I might have quarter tanks...or.....I might really be empty.

Maybe a bit dramatic, but this ^ is babble.

Sorry to hijack this otherwise enlightening thread.

 

[StalledOut]

Stewart, have you noticed this year there are more "idiots" flying around Anchorage, in and out of lake hood segment than normal?

People who report "over the boat hull" when they are two miles behind you inbound and you're right over the top of it, really annoy me. You want to call and report but he's got the frequency. Irks me.

Then there are the people who just insist on a long west landing with the sun directly in their eyes only to call the tower and report "that was a bit rough, the sun was in my eyes". DUH. If the wind is calm and the sun is setting in the west, take a south east or east and get the sun at your back.

Everyone seems to have GPS so they know exactly where they are, yet more and more people stray into the Merrill segment on the way to the ball park. What's up with that?

Maybe I am just noticing it more this summer.

 

[StewartB]

S.O.,

I've noticed. I hate looking for traffic that reports being exactly where I am, when they're really a few miles away.

You're not one of those guys that reports boat hull when inbound on the west route, are you? The inbound west route reporting point is Point MacKenzie. Outbound west traffic goes to the boat. Opposite is true for the east route. Still, lots of guys go wherever they feel like going.

Last week I landed west on the lake into the setting sun with glassy water. Tower had a couple of guys waiting to go 31 so I accepted the west, even though he previous couple of guys had used the southeast, and I knew why. I won't do that again soon. It'd been a while, I'd forgotten how much fun it can be.

SB

 

[Steve Pierce]

TripSlip38

I saw a Bonanza last year at the Air Races who did the most boring aerobatic routine I've ever seen. So, you know they have some Pitts envy.

That guy in the Bonanza flies a CAP232 in the Red Bull Air Races and world aerobatic contests. He also flies a J3 on floats, clipped wing Cub, Bucker and Great Lakes for fun.

 

[zane]

That guy in the Bonanza flies a CAP232 in the Red Bull Air Races and world aerobatic contests. He also flies a J3 on floats, clipped wing Cub, Bucker and Great Lakes for fun.

Lucky guy...what's his name? I'm sure the CAP232 show would have been much more exciting. Gonna try to make the Red Bull Air Races again in Oct.

 

[Steve Pierce]

David Martin.

 

[d.grimm]

Radio's

Sam,
Who is your buddy that has a standard radio with a battery.
I have a friend in England and I would like a radio/transponder/encoder in my Vagabond, but can't find any way to legally do it. PM me if you can give me more info. Means FREE Hangar for me if I can figure out how to do it.
Thanks,
Dave

 

[mvivion]

Dave,

Its simple: I used to own a 90 hp J-3 with no electric and kept it in Class D all the time.

I used a King KY 196 radio. Tons of push on those. Mounted using Adel clamps to the overhead tubing.

I put a motorcycle battery box and battery in the baggage compt, again secured with Adel clamps.

I then secured a small solar panel in the skylight of the airplane. Guess how I attached that?

Since all this was considered a "temporary installation", it did not require a mechanic's assistance. It was not attached to the plane. Oh, yeah, you'll be able to find someone who'll say that would require an STC, but BS on that.

It worked. I finally got to the point that I almost never turned the radio off, since it never got ahead of the solar panel.

You could easily attach a Becker Transponder in the same manner. A small Odyssey battery would run a transceiver and a transponder for MANY hours before charging was necessary, even without the solar panel.

MTV