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Old 10th September 2009 | 14:59
  #23 (permalink)  
Captain Stable
 
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,704
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From: Who can say?
Nobody would deny that the Mark I Eyeball has its limitations. Getting a little of the right kind of assistance is no bad thing.

HOWEVER, TCAS/PCAS/OCAS also have their limitations and cannot under any circumstances replace a bloody good lookout. They can't show anything not transponding, they can't show anything if the equipment fails, and as Pace so rightly says, they CAN very easily induce a false sense of security so that the lookout becomes lazier and less effective.

I train in an area that can on occasions become overrun with gliders, which very rarely carry transponders and often are non-radio as well. They don't reflect primary radar too well, so are all but invisible on radar, invisible on TCAS, and you need a damn good lookout to see such a slim fuselage and high aspect ratio wing.

So keep that lookout skill honed - or you will become (the cause of) another accident statistic sooner or later.
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