Hmm, don't think I've ever heard a glider pilot on the radio either. But I have been told "caution extensive gliding at XXX" when I've been receiving a FIS, several times.
Would be nice to hear from a glider pilot on the subject, but my thoughts are:
- We certainly can't expect glider pilots to carry transponders - the weight would cause a serious performance penalty
- Glider pilots don't generally travel in the same kind of straight lines that us powered guys travel in
- Given those two points, it would be very hard for a controller to maintain an accurate idea of the position of individual gliders, even if the pilots were talkign to the controllers
- Controllers are already aware of the general position of gliders, because the fields where gliding takes place will inform nearby controllers of their activities, especially LARS controllers
Therefore, I don't think there's any practical way that we can get an improvement in the current situation. So, keep your eyes open, keep clear of gliding fields, and keep clear of anywhere that a controller tells you there's gliding!
FFF
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