What's everyone doing about this?
The whole issue seems to have enormous political momentum and it doesn't look
like
going away, despite the fact that it either doesn't work, or the technology
is ill conceived, or is of no use to us, or that it does not have the ground
infrastructure to support it etc etc
Hiding shyly in a display cabinet at hte Telford (UK) microlight show last
weekend
was a new German Mode S transponder that seems to be suited to sport flying
and at a less than outrageous price.
Further details are available at:
http://www.filder.de
or
http://www.filser.de/main.php?date_ger_trt600
and associated links. Lightweight, small and with exceptionally low current
drain.
Includes height encoder and Flight Level readout. Also, the unique aircraft
identification code is programmable through the front panel (could be very
useful!!).
For those that don't have an ordinary transponder fitted by 2005 (e.g. me
currently)
the Mode S will be required at that time. Otherwise we'll currently all
need one by 2008. Worse still, the requirements state that any new aircraft
after
3/2004 will need Mode S straight away (I can see no small print that qualifies
this with IFR-only use, or for aircraft above a certain weight). So that
would mean any builder NOW in the UK who has not registered his 'plane by 3/2004
will need Mode S. Correct me if I am wrong on this.
Duncan McF.
PS It was brave of AFE to take the Mode S transponder to a microlight show, lest
a number of angry people take offence and assault it!
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