http://www.pilotweb.aero Pilot September 2017 | 35
There are growing restrictions of open airspace with
RMZ and TMZ as I fly around the UK and Europe and I
seem to have to avoid an increasing number of
airprox situations on every flight. I fly mainly vintage,
no on-board electrics but use the excellent Icom
handheld radio which gives good range and battery
life for a very low weight and compact size.
Transponders are another issue, power hungry and
bulky. I have experimented with making a portable
unit but battery life is only one or two hours when
heavily interrogated and so a work in progress. I
understand the Pilotaware Raspberry Pi seems a
much better system than transponders but there are
issues with multiple aerials that need to be external
to work correctly. A friend is experimenting and I
am watching.
I do not use GPS, preferring to use map, compass
and stopwatch; if I cannot see where I am going it is
time to land. I use SkyDemon for planning. I have
tried GPS but find that, instead of aiming for point
in the distance, my eyes were constantly drawn to
the screen, despite trying hard not to, continually
checking heading just to keep the aeroplane on the
exact track.
My tailskid aircraft requires a long grass strip to
land and, with no Customs now at Abbeville and
Amiens, options may be Albert Bray and Merville.
They are in Class D airspace but, I am told, will allow
non-transponder aircraft if I ‘PPR’. From the Notam
many military bases are downgrading their radar to
secondary surveillance so old wooden airframes are
now suddenly invisible, and this seems most
common in the high-energy training ranges down
the east coast, where I would particularly like to be
seen by others.
We desperately need a lightweight, portable
transponder but present technology is not
compatible. I have flown for nearly thirty years with
no transponder but am now convinced it may be
time. I would like something that automatically lets
others see me and warns me audibly if others are in
my way or likely to be (like Traffic Service). I do not
like the idea of big brother watching me but
provided it is low cost, lightweight and
comprehensive, I can accept it.
With drones now everywhere, the demand is for
transponders on everything to make sure they do
not bump into us. These are flawed arguments: will
the child’s kite carry a transponder, or a bird of
prey, and what will drones carry? Maybe the
long-promised portable transponder if they can
solve the weight and power problem but I doubt it.
And imagine the clutter on radar screens!
So how about this as an alternative? Most pilots
carry a phone, iPad or similar with sim, data
handling and built-in GPS and now keep them on
when flying. So our devices know where we are and
update the network constantly to allow calls to beconnected even with no GPS. When flying, the
position fix is likely to be poor, but if the GPS data
could be linked up then it should be possible for
someone — cleverer than me — to write an app, set
up a server and, with some software, be able to
cross-reference position locations.
If the app/device had a specific code, say when
turned on, requiring the aircraft registration to be
entered, maybe as a sub-menu to one of the
navigation packages like SkyDemon, choose aircraft
and press ‘fly’, it could then connect and send and
receive position data for itself and others in a
defined range, much like the Pilotaware, and help
avoid conflicts. And with appropriate server access,
ATC could see the location of aircraft, drones etc in
3D anywhere. Collision avoidance could be
automated with predicted tracks transmitted back
to the device, and everyone connected would have a
much clearer picture of what is where in their
locality. Yes, it’s Big Brother, but if it saves lives
then maybe we have to accept it.
Cost? Well time and software, maybe a bit of
hardware, internet connection, but that could be
recouped via licences/app. Is anyone interested in
working through the logic with me, seeing what is
required, how it should work, and then designing
the system and hardware — not the other way round
as seems to be the case with the drone community?
Eur Ing David Beale, by emailTransponder ‘lite’ anytime soon?