Originally Posted by
Postman Plod
Didn't the ATC Vigi and Viking fleets find a nice simple solution in the shape of dayglo stripes on the wings? Surely thats a nice, simple and cheap immediate fix to help with visibility?
I thought that the glider pilot, when interviewed, said that the first he knew of the collision was when he was hit from below? If that's the case then it doesn't matter what colour the aircraft was as it was in the glider's blind spot. Happy to be corrected on this (and I'm sure the AAIB report will shed more light on it). That takes us back to the general 'do gliders need to be white' question to which the simple answer remains yes they do because the materials heat up if you paint them in a dark colour. That also takes us onto the conspicuity colour scheme thread - and one of the ways that camoflage works is by disrupting the apparent shape of something - so by putting markings on (even dayglo) you actually decrease the visibility. Dayglo only appears to work because once you've spotted the aircraft you then notice the dayglo. I thought the RAFGSA or BGA did trials a few years ago which confirmed this.