Mike Cross,
Thanks for posting those links, absolutely first class. And Kudos to the CAA for giving a brief and unequivocal statement. (not required until 1st May 2009).
Robin and IO540,
I believe there is general opinion that for ditching, portable beacons are the only sensible solution. As we have seen the marine market has developed some excellent products - largely directed at boat users – though of course once having taken to the dingy we are in the same position and dependent on the same rescue services. I do hope we shall not encounter “an approval” issue for aircraft carriage.
Concerning the GPS signal, I understand these beacons are limited to 16 channels for acquisition speed and are therefore not the same as a full aircraft positioning system; however they provide a sufficiently accurate position for the SAR services (100 metres). Thereafter the 121.5 is available and some models include a strobe light to assist in final location.
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Turning to the aircraft installed fixed beacon (which as you comment has until now required removal) – this is clearly inappropriate for ditching accidents. For mountain accidents, I view this as two issues. One the occupants have survived the impact, whereby they can manually operate the beacon and would want to carry it with them should they leave the aircraft (the marine portable beacon could do this job). The second case is if the occupants are unable to move or do not survive the impact. Here some kind of auto operation is required.
Normally these beacons are fitted in the tail of the aircraft so manual operation from the cockpit is impossible.
One may re-call a glider accident some two years ago near Deeside. The pilot landed in the mountains but was trapped in the aircraft. In this case manual operation from the cockpit would be required as it was doubtful if he had landed with a sufficiently strong “g” to trigger a unit. (Fortunately he was found by Tonka’s using heat seeking technology – at some cost).
At my local flying club, heavy landings continue to cause spurious operation.
The possible requirement for aircraft fixed beacons seems a heavy investment for marginal return. What if your aircraft never crosses the mountains? Or maybe one trip per year on your hols - renting a portable unit is more acceptable.
Maybe we could have a marine type portable beacon with an additional input for a “g” sensor?
flyme