As an ex comp hang glider pilot from 10 years back we all used standard CB radios and the flying team (not team flying but a group of pilots using the same pick up driver) would select a CB channel - the comp organisers would also have a pre specified channel. The problem was the constant chat from the numerous farms with powerful CB base stations - you could listen to some fascinating conversations, but it was often distracting.
Now most CB radios come with Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System which means you can set your radio to only receive transmissions using the same pre-agreed tone code. So a hang glider or paraglider pilot will now typically only receive transmissions for his team mates. A far cry from radio alerted see and avoid. Also glider pilots should be aware that hang gliders and to a lesser extent have very limited upward visibility. Both HG and PG pilots are used dealing with very crowed gaggles (sometimes 30 or more pilots in the same thermal). This is only possible because of the much slower speeds. Peter Fox (Foxy) Canberra Gliding Club -----Original Message----- From: Texler, Michael [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, 20 April 2012 4:54 PM To: Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia. Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Gliders versus Power, radio use, look out,it can be difficult, know the limitations > One thing missing - other aircraft, such as Paragliders don't even use our radios. And they still fly with us too. Fair point. They use CB radios (I assume due to less restrictions on its use and that they are lightweight. But so is a hand held VHF). I will speak to my paragliding colleagues, unless anyone else on the list who also paraglides wants to comment. Also more often than not, paraglider canopies tend to be brightly coloured and slightly easier to spot (although I have seen some grey and white ones). You need to remember that there is someone hanging underneath them! _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
