John,
Your last 7 words sum the situation up nicely .... but possibly some genius may
be able to turn this to advantage.
As I recall the original research (and of course as we know from our own
experience), the only useful positive finding was that the reflected flash of
sunlight off a highly polished wing "was visible for miles" Unfortunately this
situation really only occurred when a glider was circling. So it is not so much
a matter of Mandrake and "smoke and mirrors", but more about mirrors!
As John McFarlane rightly notes, everything else (at the time), was basically
useless for an aircraft that could be "any colour you like, as long as that
colour was white!"
It is nice to see the CAA "giving it a go". Does anybody know what the
allocated budget for the program is?
In the meantime we are left with "lookout, lookout, lookout", and to a lesser
(but invaluable) extent Flarm.
Gary
----- Original Message -----
From: John Parncutt
To: 'Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.'
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 9:47 PM
Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Glider visibility-UK-BGA
LED lighting technology has come a long way in the past few years and is
still rapidly improving. Looking at the specifications on website
http://www.aeroleds.com/ the average current draw at about 1 Ampere per light
is still rather large for a glider. I suspect the efficiency will continue to
improve to the point where they will be a viable option, perhaps glider
manufacturers would then include them in their design.
BTW some of the cyclists LED lights are extremely bright especially when
flashing but full daylight is hard to compete with!
John Parncutt
From: aus-soaring-boun...@lists.internode.on.net
[mailto:aus-soaring-boun...@lists.internode.on.net] On Behalf Of Anthony Smith
Sent: Tuesday, 20 September 2011 9:22 PM
To: 'Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.'
Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Glider visibility-UK-BGA
Not necessarily. A range of high intensity LED strobes are coming into the
market. An example is:
http://www.aeroleds.com/
It may soon be feasible to run a pair of wing tip strobes off a second
battery for aircraft operating in high traffic areas.
From: aus-soaring-boun...@lists.internode.on.net
[mailto:aus-soaring-boun...@lists.internode.on.net] On Behalf Of John McFarlane
Sent: Tuesday, 20 September 2011 8:07 AM
To: 'Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.'
Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Glider visibility-UK-BGA
Back to Day-Glo wing tips and noses again - small wheel
From: aus-soaring-boun...@lists.internode.on.net
[mailto:aus-soaring-boun...@lists.internode.on.net] On Behalf Of Christopher Mc
Donnell
Sent: Tuesday, 20 September 2011 7:24 AM
To: Gliding mail list
Subject: [Aus-soaring] Glider visibility-UK-BGA
http://www.atc-network.com/News/39650/CAA-funds-visibility-trial
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