Further to previous postings about conspicuity of gliders, I have just seen on the (mainly American) soaring website - "ras" some postings on strobes.
One quote: " . . . the distance at which the
strobe was noticeable during the day was so relatively short that there
was minimal benefit to the installation"
Another: "The other issue is power consumption. The Whelan Cometflash strobes in my
Mooney draw about 7 amps at 12 volts. They're bright, perhaps even bright
enough to be effective in daylight. On the other hand, the strobes in my
Stemma draw only about 2 amps . . . nowhere near as bright, they would be
next to useless in daylight."
I believe most gliders have a 7AH battery, so the Mooney-type strobe would drain it in an hour, even without the other glider instruments taking any current. In practice a separate battery would be needed for the instruments etc. Some gliders have provision for two batteries, and/or a 12AH capacity, but even so there is little hope that present strobe technology would be practicable and helpful.
I wish there were an effective solution, but it seems that there is none yet.
Chris N.