PLB
 

I've been informed these are now mandatory to carry to France. Is there anything I should be looking out for when making a purchase ? These seem cheap:

SPOT - SATELLITE PERSONAL TRACKER - GPS PLB on eBay, also, GPS Systems, GPS, Consumer Electronics (end time 25-Feb-09 12:44:11 GMT)

Are there specific versions that I can only use ?

SPOT may be cheap, but it is not a PLB in the context of the French (and other) civil aviation legislative requirements.

You need a 406MHz beacon (with built-in GPS) that uses the Cospas-Sarsat satellite network and also transmits on 121.5MHz.

When I was looking into it.
 

This is the one that you need:

Emergency EPIRB Beacons & Strobes

To reiterate, the PLB you want is going to cost over 300 pounds. The fastfind.

1/60

Strictly speaking, the PLB is not mandatory, it is actually a concession so you don't have to install a fixed locator beacon in the aircraft. You must have 406 MHz transmission and 121.5 whichever you use.

Microlights, homebuilts, gliders and balloons are exempt the requirement.
The full text is here
https://www.sia.aviation-civile.gouv...2008_10_FR.pdf

You have to register the PLB with your national authority, and you can use one for as many aircraft as you like. (obviously one at a time) It is not required if you don't leave the aerodrome circuit:D

You can buy a ACR PLB with GPS for $436 US. Sending it to a service center for recoding the country cost me about $100; so, find a dealer who will recode it for you or special order a properly encoded unit.

Beware

The Dutch at the moment appear not to be accepting PLB's, they are currently asking for an ELT encoded with the 24 bit a/c address.

Discussion is ongoing here.

Can't say I agree with their argument about wanting the a/c details. If I end up in the drink I'm still going to need rescuing whether I got there by air or by sea, and if it's a PLB it's unlikely that I got there because I was in a large airliner or ship that has sunk without anyone being aware of it. My details are registered at both the MRCC and ARCC and they have the contact info that will enable them to find out what I was doing.

Dutch ELT
 

I have just spoken to 'the man who knows' at the ATC Netherlands AIS, Schipol regarding ELT/PLB in Dutch airspace.
He confirmed that for non-AOC flights a PLB is sufficient.

NOTE that he defined PLB as a PORTABLE Locator Beacon correctly registered as an approved device with the UK authorities (eg UK ELT Database, UKMCC, ARCC, RAF Kinloss) and NOT a Personal Loc Bcn 'as used by hill walkers' etc.

I raised this issue with an inspector of our national CAA. He told me that Belgium follows the ICAO recommendation: ELT is compulsory for aircraft over 5.7MT only. I have bought a PLB and I hope to be able to fly across Europe without an expensive 406 ELT.

So what's this new device they have just invented then? Can they point to a definition or a PORTABLE (as opposed to PERSONAL) Locator Becaon?

I have a McMurdo Fastfind PLB (the manufacturer says this stands for Personal Locator Beacon) which is registered with ARCC Kinloss AND with MRCC Plymouth for both Aviation and Marine use.

The difference between a Personal Locator Beacon and a Survival ELT
which is referred to in the Dutch AIC appears to be that the ELT-S transmits the aircraft's 24 bit ID while a PLB does not have the facility.

The Dutch AIC states:-
Which indicates that a PLB is not acceptable. What your man is saying does not accord with what the AIC says.