Firstly, condolences to all - the families first and foremost, but all the friends and colleages as well.
The thread answers a question I had - since the Tutors are G-registered the AAIB will do the report. Can I take it that the RAF will do their own investigation as well?
Someone said that Flarm in both aircraft would have prevented the accident. Probably, but since it is possible to come up with scenarios where it wouldn't have I'd say that statement was rash unless they were an eye witness or have heard a good 1st hand witness account.
However Flarm is a low-cost (in aviation terms!) technology which many glider pilots have been very impressed with, and the uptake of it among XC glider pilots is growing all the time. There are certainly glider pilots who believe it has saved them from an airmiss or a middair.
Why can't we paint gliders something other than white? Because that's what the maker says, and therefore doing so would among other things invalidate our insurance. If I feel the white top of a wing on a moderately sunny day it's cool, if I feel the red wingtip it's quite a bit warmer. Most gliders are not new by any means - the one involved on Sunday was built in 1972 - so any changes in paint / composite technology that would allow a paintscheme have come too late for them. It would be great if we could all have our gliders painted yellow & black, but sadly it's not possible for the composite ones. I do see an old wood/fabric glider painted yellow fairly often and agree it is much, much easier to see. However I'm not how much difference colour schemes make for the aircraft that's a threat - the one that's on a constant bearing and gradually getting bigger, but of course not moving relative to the background. Possibly it depends what the background is - white clouds? Blue sky? High ground?
A question of my own: do Tutors carry transponders? If so, do they always transpond?
Someone asked 'how does one eject from a glider'? Get rid of the canopy (each one has a specific way of doing this), release harness, climb out, pull parachute. I was told that below 2,000' agl it was rare to do this successfully but it has been done once that I know of from about 1,000', though the circumstances were bizarre. Apparently the 'chutes glider pilots (and presumbly Tutor pax) wear are packed to open and fill very quickly compared to sports 'chutes. I imagine jumping is adrenaline fuelled.