Ignorance is bliss? (Traffic!!!)

[ajstoner21]

I was out flying with a friend the other day in a G1000 equipped 172. We were in a very crowded area apparently, there were 3 other planes showing up on the MFD, within a few hundred feet of our altitude within a few miles of us I thought.

Perhaps the scale was too big, but they looked very close to us, and neither of us could see any of them (passenger is a pilot as well, so he "knows how to look for traffic").



So, my question. Would you rather have no idea the traffic is there, such as when flying in a bare bones type set up? or would you prefer flying in an airplane that shows nearby traffic and not be able to visually see any of them?


One of them looked like they were on a collision course with us, so we did turned away and circled back to be safe....

 

[TripleZ]

I prefer to see and know the traffic is there. A pair of ultralights came out of nowhere the other day. White wings, just above pattern altitude, flying without radios or not on the same frequency, and parially blocked by my high wing. Sometimes, you just dont see them.

I like picking up FF for that reason. They see planes way before I do.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

I prefer to know it's there. I've come very close to other aircraft several times... Heck, the latest one was just a couple of weeks ago, I was flying from OSH to Sheboygan and as I reached the far shore of Lake Winnebago I saw an RV getting larger and larger ahead and to the left of me, same altitude, not moving relative to me. I pulled a hair up and to the left and he whizzed on by in front of me. That one wasn't scary because I saw him... I've had encounters that close where I didn't see them until it would have been too late... And over the north woods where there's hardly any people, let alone airplanes.

That said, the magic box doesn't mean you can let up on your scan one bit - Every single NORDO without a transponder is still gonna whack you, no matter how much gadgetry and ATC service you have.

 

[drgwentzel]

I have a Garmin 696 and a Garmin 330 Mode S Transponder. I like being able to see the traffic, but I totally understand your question. I've gotten a few skipped heart beats when a plane was literally right on top of my airplane symbol . Turns out if you are turning or manuvering TIS picks you up as your own traffic at your own altitude. It can be quite scary until you realize it's just you!

I've also had to turn away from converging traffic that the unit saw and I didn't. It can be inconvienent, but it might just save some lives.

Gene Wentzel

I was out flying with a friend the other day in a G1000 equipped 172. We were in a very crowded area apparently, there were 3 other planes showing up on the MFD, within a few hundred feet of our altitude within a few miles of us I thought.

Perhaps the scale was too big, but they looked very close to us, and neither of us could see any of them (passenger is a pilot as well, so he "knows how to look for traffic").



So, my question. Would you rather have no idea the traffic is there, such as when flying in a bare bones type set up? or would you prefer flying in an airplane that shows nearby traffic and not be able to visually see any of them?


One of them looked like they were on a collision course with us, so we did turned away and circled back to be safe....

 

[ajstoner21]

I have a Garmin 696 and a Garmin 330 Mode S Transponder. I like being able to see the traffic, but I totally understand your question. I've gotten a few skipped heart beats when a plane was literally right on top of my airplane symbol . Turns out if you are turning or manuvering TIS picks you up as your own traffic at your own altitude. It can be quite scary until you realize it's just you!

I've also had to turn away from converging traffic that the unit saw and I didn't. It can be inconvienent, but it might just save some lives.

Gene Wentzel

I discovered that little feature the first time i flew a G1000 at night. I had my girlfriend with too. We did a left 360 and a right 360, and she started asking what that diamond on the screen was... My first thought was.. "oh crap... start looking for another plane". we were really looking hard! I was trying to out maneuver, myself haha. I tried to climb and turn away, and it seemed this plane was following us! I kept thinking "what the heck man, come on" Then it just disappeared. I was talking to a flight instructor friend. I didnt tell him what we did previous, but he was like "did you happen to just do a steep turn?", I told him "as a matter a fact, I did". But yeah, I have experienced the seeing yourself as traffic thing. It is scary the first time when you have no knowledge of that situation.