1) avoid flying inside clouds. It's almost free and the PAX get a much better view as well.
Not usually possible in the UK at least 80 percent of my flights are in IMC
2) monitor 130.4 and use it to try to establish if there are gliders inside the cloud you want to fly in. Again it's free.
Normally too busy talking on other frequencies but if those frequencies are to be closed thats something we could do.
Maybe gliders could give positions and blocks to London Info. When IMC or flying above 4000 feet? As London Info could pass on that information.
3) get yourself one of the standalong Flarm units, currently just over £500 for a Swiss Flarm which is stand-alone and can be mounted using Velcro. If you don't have a suitable power outlet in your plane you could use a small rechargeable battery. If I could buy and fit a transponder for that sum I would, and so would most other glider pilots that fly XC. If it was that sum and that easy I would have no problem with a transponder being mandated for cloud flying.
Happy to do that if gliders self regulate that ALL gliders flying IMC have to have a working FLARM fitted.Some do some dont is NOT good enough.
Finally, did you report the incident to the AirProx board?
I made a CHIRP report and have been encouraged to go much further by them.
But then maybe its better to forget it take the risk hope it will never happen again than upset our gliding brothers.
I was two minds about posting here because I am really not against gliders and the animosity makes me wonder why I did?
More than anthing hope there never is a collision OCAS with a CAT then we all loose our freedoms as fast as the gun owners lost theirs.
Pace