406 mhz ELT Holland

[beerdrinker]

It was not just the French who last year issued an AIC mandating 406 mhz ELTs.

For your information the Dutch CAA demands a 406 ELT fitted to the aircraft, but unlike the French, a PLB is not good enough.

http://www.ais-netherlands.nl/aim/AICB/pdf/b07-08.pdf

In the English section on the applicablity of the new rule to GA aircraft the text is incomplete. A very rough translation of the Dutch text is as follows.

INTERNATIONAL GENERAL AVIATION
- AIRCRAFT
1. All aircraft (including MLA and TMG) which exeute international flights as general aviation, should equipped with at least one ELT whatever what type.

2. All aircraft (incl. TMG and MLA) which execute international flights as General Aviation, for which the C of A is issued after July 1st 2008, must be equipped with at least one ELT that is automatically activated.



In other words,
1. all GA aircraft on international flights must have an ELT of any type and
2. If first C of A issued after July 1 2008 it must be automatically activated.

[Whopity]

It is interesting that reference is made to the C of A as all UK MLAs operate on a Permit and not a C of A. Many TMGs are also on a Permit!

[Mark 1]

Any idea why this was published as a series B AIC (national distribution only)?

The implication is that it only applies to Dutch aircraft.

[letsgonow]

Having read the Dutch document it looks as if transiting or landing in any Dutch airspace is now a no go area with just a PLB which is real shame as I have always had an excellent experience of Dutch AT and airfields.
Why do the Dutch see the need for ELT’s as it is very flat and heavily populated!! and you don’t need a mode S transponder under 1200 ft in some areas.

[flyme273]

seems to me that the Dutch document would permit "survival ELT-S" which is removable and activated by the survivors. i.e. McMurdo, GME, etc.
I assume one could rent/borrow one for trips in Dutch airspace?

Quite a good idea to have a unit on board for the Channel crossing.

flyme

[IO540]

My ELT (Artex ELT-200) is 121.5+243 and I have found that an Artex ME-406 cannot be installed using the ELT-200 harness despite their claim in the ME-406 brochure that it can, so it's a lot of work, taking out the seats, the trim, etc, just to run an extra wire through.

So I carry two 121.5+406 handhelds, one of which has a GPS.

I haven't followed the "which ELT for which country in Europe" closely but vaguely recall someone discovering that the regs which mandate a fixed 406MHz unit apply only to planes whose CofA was first issued after about 2008.

In the meantime I am going to look for a fixed 121.5+406 ELT which connects to the instrument panel switch cluster using a maximum of three wires, plus a shield - this is what I already have.

If Holland really mandates a fixed 406 unit now, then I simply will not fly to Holland. An N-reg plane (which under the FARs does not have to carry such a unit) would be easy prey to some d*ckhead policeman who has nothing better to do.

[dublinpilot]

I haven't followed the "which ELT for which country in Europe" closely but vaguely recall someone discovering that the regs which mandate a fixed 406MHz unit apply only to planes whose CofA was first issued after about 2008.


I think the problem is that the word FIRST doesn't appear in the Dutch regs. Also the part about C of A only relates to auto activation units. See the first post on this thread for a link to the document.

[IO540]

In that case, most N-reg planes will be OK because their CofA is issued only once - when they are first placed onto the US registry.

[Islander2]

seems to me that the Dutch document would permit "survival ELT-S" which is removable and activated by the survivors. i.e. McMurdo, GME, etc.'Survival ELT-S' as used by ICAO in their Annex 6 and Annex 10 recommendations is defined in both US and European standards: RTCA DO-204 or EUROCAE ED-62.

The PLBs we are using (McMurdo, GME, etc) do NOT meet these standards and cannot be approved as such.

Various ELT-S units are available, but:
a) they are typically >$2,000; and
b) they are not GPS-enabled, and therefore have a much slower precise-location time than our GPS-enabled PLBs.

[dublinpilot]

IO,

Are the US ones not auto activating anyway? If so then that part of the reg isn't an issue for them, irrespective of when they were registered.

The issue would seem to be that they have to upgrade to 406mhz. Are they required to do this anyway for US regs?

dp

[IO540]

Yes the US ones are auto activating.

The FAA has not yet mandated 406MHz. When they do, all the N-reg planes around the world will have to refit.

[BeechNut]

Canada has mandated these as well. We've been granted a reprieve of about a year to comply though. Not looking forward to the cost. :(

FWIW I never fly in the remote areas.

Beech

[IO540]

Look up the Kannad AF COMPACT (http://www.kannad.com/en/tracking/index.php?id=51&g_p=42) - this seems to need just 3 wires although the mounting holes are not Artex compatible (but pretty obviously could be "moved" to line up. It's similar cost to the Artex ME-406, but the switch and the antenna are sold separately so watch that...

Artex have shot themselves in the foot by requiring 4-5 wires for their ME-406 which means most replacement installs will have to rip out some cockpit trim to lay these extra wires.