Glider: "Wycombe good afternoon, Glider 123"
Wycombe "Glider 123 pass your message"
Glider "Glider 123 is a standard class glider operating to the West of your ATZ requesting Radar Information
Wycombe: "We're not radar equipped, can only provide flight information. Report your position and intention"
Glider: "Roger, understood. Glider 123 will be routing between Wycombe and Kidlington"
Wycombe: "Glider 123 confirm intended height and heading"
Glider: "Glider 123 will be operating between 500' AGL and base of the London TMA and will be routing somewhere over Oxfordshire"
Wycombe: "Roger Glider 123, no known traffic"
Glider: "Wycombe are you in contact with the Cessna, Pitts Special, Extra, Piper Cub or microlight that I can see in the area?"
Wycome: "Negative"
Glider: "Roger, be advised I can also see a further ten gliders in the area"
The point here is that there could be lots of other traffic, all using different frequencies (Wycombe, Kidlington, Benson, Halton, White Waltham and others all being valid contenders)
(D) Glider with handheld radio (720ch + pilot with an RT licence), in IMC. Here's the scene:
Glider: "Benson Radar, Glider 123"
Benson: ........ (it's Saturday, so there's no answer)
Glider: "Farnborough Radar, Glider 123"
Farnborough West: "Glider 123, pass your message"
Glider "Glider 123 is a standard class glider operating in IMC between Wycombe and Kidlington requesting Radar Information"
Farnborough West: "Glider 123, squawk 1234"
Glider: "Glider 123 isn't transponder equipped. Only power is in my handheld radio"
Farnborough West: "Glider 123, Can you accept a radar heading for identification?"
Glider: "Glider 123, negative, currently climbing in a thermal in a cloud"
Farnborough West: "Glider 123, Can provide Flight Information only"
Glider: "Roger that, can you confirm that you're co-ordinating all IMC traffic around the Benson area?"
Farnborough West: "Negative, only the ones talking to us."
Point here is that IMC traffic could be liaising with Kidlington, Benson (on UHF), Brize Radar or Farnborough West.
Hopefully Englishal this'll help to explain why there's a reluctance for gliders to call ATZ's in VMC or LARS in IMC.
My idea would go more like this:
Glider 123: Boscombe Radar Glider 123
Boscombe: Glider 123 pass your message
Glider123: Boscombe Radar, glider 123 is a standard class glider operating between X and Y currently 2200 climbing in IMC overhead Z
Boscombe Radar: Glider 123 roger, report VMC
Gider 123: Wilco
Then I come along in at 200 kts
GABCD: GABCD 3000' IFR IMC direct SAM
Boscombe Radar: GABCD roger. Be advised we have a report of a glider climbing in IMC overhead Z, last reported 2200'
GABCD: Roger, deviating 10 right for traffic
Boscombe Radar: Roger, contact Bournemouth Radar now on 119.475
Glider 123: Boscombe Radar Glider 123 VMC 4500 overhead Z changing frequency enroute
Boscombe Radar: Thanks for the call, bye....
That sort of thing...It is not important whether you get a RADAR service yourself, the mere fact that you reported where you were, in IMC, and then reported back in VMC makes life safer for everyone. You just have to think logically about who to call - and who would anyone transitting IFR would call (in my example, Bournemouth probably).....Call either the closest or the one with the bigest coverage (e.g. Farnborough).
If all gliders in IMC did this, then we wouldn't even be having a discussion about transponders.....
I once flew IFR from Scotland to Oxford. The weather was ****e (and hence high workload - very turbulent) and the radar controller gave me a warning "multiple contacts 10 miles ahead, no height information, could be gliders". I wasn't near a gliding site so carried on regardless (I was at about 6k' OCAS). However over that area there were a few breaks in the cloud and low and behold, looking down I could see gliders below me. At the time I thought I was safe as I was in the cloud, had I known that there could have (or may have been) gliders in the cloud with me, then that scares the heck out of me - and really it should scare the glider pilot too. If I smack into one at 150 kts the chances are that it is going to a bad outcome for everyone. It hasn't happened yet, thank goodness, but just the Reno glider / Hawker incident shows that it can happen, even in VMC. All involved in that incident were SO lucky....