Fuji:
The trials by gliders using PCAS are on the other hand very useful albeit I wonder whether many gliders will actually invest in PCAS.
And I wonder how many GA will invest in Flarm? to get the best benefits both fleets have to be transmitting and both receiving.
We know that not all GA transponds, so fitting a PCAS wouldn't let me find them, and since I don't transpond they will be in blissful ignorance of me until they fit a Flarm (once mine is borught and fitted, which will be next month).
I would also remind you that there have been two middairs this year, one in S. Wales and the one last Sunday. The first one didn't involve gliders - it involved two modern, well-equipped planes flown by experiences pilots each of which must have known the other was in the air. I have no idea what either of the AAIB reports will say (or any internal RAF report), but both were in VMC. Does all GA with a transponder transpond at all times? If not, why not?
You have been told several times over that (leaving practical issues aside) the only way most gliders can fit a transponder is by driving a coach and horses through the EASA regulations which is what we suspect the Dutch pilots have done. Now most of us are distinctly unimpressed with having had to EASA-transition our gliders, but now they are EASA controlled do you recommend we ignore the rules?
IO450: Yes, a qualified BGA & EASA approved inspector looks at the glider every year and should spot non-EASA installations / modifications. Since we have only just come under that umbrella I don't know what would happen if they spotted a non-compliant installation / modification. Yes, we take everything out we can first - parachutes, pee bags, charts, camelbacks, food crumbs, flight loggers, Flarm, O2 bottles - and as can easily be removed is not an issue for EASA, PCAS could probably go in just about any glider, ModeS not.
Modern lithium batteries - URL please, I'm not sure what they are, what sizes they come in and so on. But remember the only kind of transponder that EASA would do a scheme for now would be Mode-S which uses a lot more power than Mode-C.
Someone at my club said that in 10 years or so ADS-B will be side-stepping the issue. Can't comment except to say that he is very well connected in both the gliding world and the CAT world and is nobodies fool.