Sennadog There have been a few threads about Mode S. Try a search on "Mode S".
I'm not optimistic about the government binning it after realising how expensive the system will be. They are more likely to demand exemptions for various flyers like hangliders, balloons etc who have no power supplies. The rest of us will have to bite the bullet and cough up.
We'll still have to pay £5-6K to install the damn things in our aeroplanes though unless the prices come down. According to the last issue of Popular Flying magazine a sub £1,000 Mode S unit will be on sale reletively quickly. Now where have I heard that before......
My biggest whinge is that I feel it will be a waste of money as a lot of ATC units are going to tune out the returns from light aircraft to maintain some clarity on their systems. Can you imagine how many returns Luton Radar will be getting from Panshanger, Rush Green, Elstree, Wycombe etc etc.
