Thank goodness for ADS-B in and Foreflight

[dans2992]

My sonex has no ADSB. Neither does the cub I got my tail wheel endorsement in. I’m in Ct right between the busy New York and Boston airspace with a class C at Bradley right in the middle. You would be surprised at how much airspace is out there that doesn’t require a transponder or ADSB to be in. I flew from Ct to Oshkosh one year all without a transponder or ADSB. There are far more airplanes flying without modern equipment like ADSB than you think.

Interesting…. I’m not sure why someone would not equip with it. Really limits where you can go with the plane. Plus, with all the solutions these days you can be up and running for $1-2k.

 

[kmacht]

Interesting…. I’m not sure why someone would not equip with it. Really limits where you can go with the plane. Plus, with all the solutions these days you can be up and running for $1-2k.

Show me a transponder and adsb that can be bought for 1-2k. It doesn't exist.

 

[Daleandee]

Show me a transponder and adsb that can be bought for 1-2k. It doesn't exist.

Can't do it with all new stuff but for experimental aircaft the EchoUAT bundle (when available) was about $1400:

https://www.gulfcoastavionics.com/products/echouatskyfyx-ext-bundle

Put that with a used transponder and encoder and it can get done for less than 2k ... or at least it did for me. Now I have ADS-B in & out ...

 

[geezer]

There was a Luscombe at College Park, MD, KCGS, with a decal on the door "TYPE AND ALTITUDE UNKNOWN". no radios, no transponder, no ADSB, no electric but magneto's.

He arrived from San Francisco, with several jogs North and South to visit friends, well over 4,000 miles, and never talked to anyone. Plus, it was painted black.

After several months in the Washington DC area, he departed to the South, in the same manner.

All he produced was "skin return" which is often not noticed. He had a handheld com radio, and often heard the call out of traffic to other planes with his heading, followed by "Type and altitude unknown".

There are an amazing number of such aircraft out there.

 

[ColinD]

I'd say about half the aircraft I hear flying over my property are negative ADSB. (As is customary, I have the ADSBexchange link on my phone's home screen and an acutely tuned ear prompting its usage.)

There are a huge number of such aircraft in the middle of the country... below 10,000 MSL anyway.

 

[Bob Noel]

Interesting…. I’m not sure why someone would not equip with it. Really limits where you can go with the plane. Plus, with all the solutions these days you can be up and running for $1-2k.

maybe...assuming you already have a suitable nav $ource to feed it.

 

[John Collins]

I have wig-wag LED lights and I like to keep them on when in flight. Someone suggested they are too bright and could be distracting to others. I hope that's true ...

There is an Australian study that shows that in a bright sunlit environment, the eye picks out the contrast and that lights on the aircraft reduce, not enhance the ability of the eye to spot the aircraft. During WWII, the first attempt at stealth was to light up the leading edge of the wing to allow aircraft to sneak up on submarines, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehudi_lights If the landing lights are cycling on and off, the contrast change is picked up by the rods in the eye and is very good for conspicuity. A steady light is counter productive unless very very bright or a dark background. It does not help with one aircraft over taking an other, which seems to be a major cause of mid air in the pattern. Next time you are waiting for takeoff and see an aircraft on final during a bright day, notice when you can make out if the landing light is on or off. It may surprise you.

 

[John Collins]

According to FAA data, there are about 210,000 aircraft in the fleet, 165,351 are equipped and of those 155,906 have compliant installations. So there are around 45000 aircraft that are not equipped and another 10,000 that are equipped but are not compliant with the rule.

 

[Hang 4]

Good data, I suspect there's a lot of ramp trash and hangar queens that never fly in the 45K.

 

[WalterH]

I’ve been in the process of resurrecting one of those hangar queens (my father’s Bonanza), and have flown about 20 hours in it this year negative ADSB. There’s a Mooney that I run into all the time locally who’s also flying unequipped. While I do intend to equip ADSB as my second priority upgrade (first is shoulder harnesses), no upgrades are happening until I work through the deferred maintenance. Not having ADSB is barely an inconvenience where I fly. I do think it enhances safety.

I guess my point is, for aircraft based in rural areas, it’s not just Cubs without it.

 

[Joepilotmsp]

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[Joepilotmsp]

Go get em Mav!

 

[flyingpreacher]

@darthanubis I too am a fairly young pilot, so I’m not the geezer you’re describing, but when you make comments as you have, painting older pilots in the light that you are scared to share the sky with them, it does demonstrate that you feel more confident in your abilities than in theirs. There is a local pilot here in his 70s, but I’ll take him over pretty much ANYBODY on this forum eight days/week! Former B-52 pilot, one of the original sixteen B-1 pilots, and has been instructing probably longer than you’ve been alive.

You, on the other hand, described yourself earlier in this thread as a low time pilot. That means that you have a LOT to learn yet: (don’t get me wrong, my Commercial, CFI, and CFI-I tests are constant reminders of how much I still have to learn too!)

The FAA describes 5 hazardous attitudes for pilots to avoid, and your posts seem to indicate at least a couple of them. I’d be more nervous to share airspace with a low time pilot who thinks his certificate and youth will save him from catastrophe rather than a guy who has been flying for half a century and knows what to look out for and has learned from a few (or more than a few!) mistakes over those decades.

As far as thick skin, I don’t think a pilot telling you that you could use some humility is a demonstration of getting their feelings hurt, I think it is evidence of older and wiser members of the community trying to help you reframe your mindset before it gets you into trouble.

At the end of the day, you passed the same private pilot exam as they did (actually probably an easier version with no NDB training, etc), their medicals get done on average twice as often as yours, and there is a higher chance that they have pursued additional training and ratings than you. Medically speaking, is there a higher risk of significant medical events as we get older? Sure. But with the sharp uptick in myocarditis and cardiac events in young people over the last few years, you are certainly not invulnerable either.

So perhaps, rather than portraying aging pilots as those with whom you are nervous to share the sky, maybe you should get to know some of them, ask them questions (and then listen to their responses), and generally view them as a resource rather than a liability.

 

[dbahn]

@darthanubis

You, on the other hand, described yourself earlier in this thread as a low time pilot. That means that you have a LOT to learn yet: (don’t get me wrong, my Commercial, CFI, and CFI-I tests are constant reminders of how much I still have to learn too!)

Most low time pilots have NO IDEA how much they have yet to learn.

 

[Ed Haywood]

Most low time pilots have NO IDEA how much they have yet to learn.

A point that many some high time PoA pilots never tire of pointing out.

 

[Bob Noel]

A point that many some high time PoA pilots never tire of pointing out.

I imagine they are disappointed of the need

 

[Ed Haywood]

I imagine they are disappointed of the need

Alternatively, they take great satisfaction from it.

 

[darthanubis]

@darthanubis I too am a fairly young pilot, so I’m not the geezer you’re describing, but when you make comments as you have, painting older pilots in the light that you are scared to share the sky with them, it does demonstrate that you feel more confident in your abilities than in theirs.

Your premise is faulty, so you saved me from having to read the rest of your screed.

Just because someone has been doing something longer than you, doesn't make them better nor proficient. You see it in driving, motorcycling, professional truck driving. You'd be surprised how many long time truck drivers can't back up a rig.

Save your preaching, and learn how to make an argument. I suggest learning what demonstration means for starters. I shared my opinion. I wasn't being ageist as many consider me old. There are people out there who have aged out of their hobbies, professions, driving, but no one in their life has taken the keys from them yet. Oft times we read reports of the fatal results. This is a very real thing, whether people like it or not.

If it doesn't apply to you, move on. BTW worry about yourself, ,and don't use words like "geezer" which you won't find in my post, and is ageist. You might get a warning from the ADMIN.

How is this still off topic?

 

[Dana]

My sonex has no ADSB. Neither does the cub I got my tail wheel endorsement in. I’m in Ct right between the busy New York and Boston airspace with a class C at Bradley right in the middle.

Same here.

 

[robin ardoin]

@darthanus ..... you have earned an ignore Congratulations!

Your premise is faulty, so you saved me from having to read the rest of your screed.

Just because someone has been doing something longer than you, doesn't make them better nor proficient. You see it in driving, motorcycling, professional truck driving. You'd be surprised how many long time truck drivers can't back up a rig.

Save your preaching, and learn how to make an argument. I suggest learning what demonstration means for starters. I shared my opinion. I wasn't being ageist as many consider me old. There are people out there who have aged out of their hobbies, professions, driving, but no one in their life has taken the keys from them yet. Oft times we read reports of the fatal results. This is a very real thing, whether people like it or not.

If it doesn't apply to you, move on. BTW worry about yourself, ,and don't use words like "geezer" which you won't find in my post, and is ageist. You might get a warning from the ADMIN.

How is this still off topic?

 

[Joepilotmsp]

Your premise is faulty, so you saved me from having to read the rest of your screed.

Just because someone has been doing something longer than you, doesn't make them better nor proficient. You see it in driving, motorcycling, professional truck driving. You'd be surprised how many long time truck drivers can't back up a rig.

Save your preaching, and learn how to make an argument. I suggest learning what demonstration means for starters. I shared my opinion. I wasn't being ageist as many consider me old. There are people out there who have aged out of their hobbies, professions, driving, but no one in their life has taken the keys from them yet. Oft times we read reports of the fatal results. This is a very real thing, whether people like it or not.

If it doesn't apply to you, move on. BTW worry about yourself, ,and don't use words like "geezer" which you won't find in my post, and is ageist. You might get a warning from the ADMIN.

How is this still off topic?

Making lotsa friends Huh Mav? Nice work kicking that hornets nest. I dismissed you as just an arrogant nugget. The same gods little gift to aviation to be avoided on the ramp, hangar, lounge but especially in the pattern. I suggest you read flyingpreacher’s piece, a few times. Your low time skills and inflated ego make many more smoking holes then seasoned professionals. Grow up!

 

[Joepilotmsp]

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maybe someday Mav, but now it time for your nnap.