406MHz ELT & 121.5

bstratt

bstratt

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Canuck
I was posting on the red board in the International Flying - Canada Forum and discovered the following which I wasn't sure had been posted on this site.

Effective Jul1st, 2008, the FAA has mandated that all US Registered aircraft that leave the USA, i.e. fly internationally, must have a 406 MHz ELT, either portable or installed.

Canada has drafted a law effective February 1, 2009, requiring all aircraft flying in Canada to have an installed 406MHz ELT. Note there is no option for a portable nor any exemption for aircraft registered in other countries, i.e. the USA.

I can get a portable for $300-$400 but a 406MHz ELT installed is about $3,000.

Two questions:
How many of you intend to install a 406MHz ELT?

If they stop monitoring 121.5, will we get a new frequency for verbal Mayday declarations?
 
ATC/FSS will not stop monitoring 121.5. What's happening is the COSPAS/SARSAT system will stop monitoring 121.5 in early 2009 (Feb I think).

What this means is that unless you are:
  • IFR (or VFR with flight following) and drop off the scopes
  • IFR out of radar coverage and miss a mandatory reporting point
  • VFR and file and activate a flight plan
  • (All of these will activate SAR if you are lost or overdue)
If you crash, you are depending on overflying aircraft who might be monitoring 121.5 to report it and start the SAR process.

By contrast, a 406MHz beacon will start the SAR process in less than an hour, with a much smaller initial search area. If your beacon is coupled to your GPS and broadcasts your last position, then the search area is generally much less than 1 square mile.

If I owned an airplane, I'd spend the bucks and put in a 406MHz beacon, and couple it to the GPS. You don't need it until you really need it, but who wants to be off airport somewhere with injuries thinking "I wish I'd spent more money on my beacon"?

Since I don't own an airplane, I will soon have a 406MHz PLB. The only drawback of the PLB is that I have to be able to manually activate it.
 
I've previously looked into the kits Ron's posted, and I am undecided if I am going to upgrade with those kits or go for one of the more expensive GPS-enabled models. Where I fly there aren't many eyewitnesses and a lot of time between overhead airline flights. I already have a GPS PLB in my survival vest and I have in my mental emergency checklist to arm and activate on the way down but you are already as busy as a one-legged ***kicker in an emergency as it is. That panel button is a little easier to press, not to mention the backup of inertia activation.
 
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Ron Levy said:
A 406 ELT doesn't have to cost $3000. If you already have an ACK ELT installed. See http://www.ackavionics.com/ for their $560 upgrade kit; $600 for a full kit if you don't have an ACK ELT. See http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/av/elt.html for a range of other options available for less than $3000.
Click to expand...

I must admit I didn't research prices but in one of the writeups they stated up to $1,000 for a non-gps linked ELT, and $3,000 for a GPS linked ELT. That ACK one at $560 looks reasonable. I'll have to check into it more.

Thanks
 
Hidden costs- different control wiring, etc., so lots of labor.
 
This will be how it goes. There will be no mandate to replace 121.5 MHz ELTs with 406MHz except you will have to, maybe after another famous person disappears in a wreck.

There will be no mandate to install ADS, except you will have to.

In both cases, you won't have to have GPS, except for ADS, you will have to have GPS to send your coordinates.

Owell. Just hope the equipment prices do come down to reasonable levels. The cost of the required labor is never going to come down
 
alaskaflyer said:
I've previously looked into the kits Ron's posted, and I am undecided if I am going to upgrade with those kits or go for one of the more expensive GPS-enabled models. Where I fly there aren't many eyewitnesses and a lot of time between overhead airline flights. I already have a GPS PLB in my survival vest and I have in my mental emergency checklist to arm and activate on the way down but you are already as busy as a one-legged ***kicker in an emergency as it is. That panel button is a little easier to press, not to mention the backup of inertia activation.
Click to expand...

I carry a GPS/PLB. My theory is that if I can't manage to activate it after an off airport arrival, the difference between fast and slow SAR isn't likely to matter. If this nonsense requiring 406 ELTs in Canada and/or crossing the border doesn't get postponed, I'll be forced to comply since I fly across southern Canada often enough to need it pretty soon. I'm hoping to delay this until I can get a GPS/ELT at a reasonable price ($500-1000).
 
lancefisher said:
I carry a GPS/PLB. My theory is that if I can't manage to activate it after an off airport arrival, the difference between fast and slow SAR isn't likely to matter. If this nonsense requiring 406 ELTs in Canada and/or crossing the border doesn't get postponed, I'll be forced to comply since I fly across southern Canada often enough to need it pretty soon. I'm hoping to delay this until I can get a GPS/ELT at a reasonable price ($500-1000).
Click to expand...
If it doesn't get postponed (or rescinded), it may curtil my flying into Canada (and the Bahamas>), since I don't have any control over the installation of a 406 in the rental fleet. We do, however, have a couple of PLBs!
 
TMetzinger said:
Since I don't own an airplane, I will soon have a 406MHz PLB. The only drawback of the PLB is that I have to be able to manually activate it.
Click to expand...

But, you can do so BEFORE the crash - Once you know you're going down, hit the button. I asked about this at OSH last year before I bought one, mainly because if I go over the lake and the engine quits at just the wrong time, I wanted to know if I should push the button right away, or wait until I hit the water. They said that it'll keep updating your position every few minutes for as long as it's transmitting, so go ahead and hit it as soon as you know you'll need assistance.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
But, you can do so BEFORE the crash - Once you know you're going down, hit the button. I asked about this at OSH last year before I bought one, mainly because if I go over the lake and the engine quits at just the wrong time, I wanted to know if I should push the button right away, or wait until I hit the water. They said that it'll keep updating your position every few minutes for as long as it's transmitting, so go ahead and hit it as soon as you know you'll need assistance.
Click to expand...
But don't stop flying the plane to do that! :no:
 
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