406 MHZ

[c170b53]

Anyone going to take the 406 ELT plunge? Advice needed

[N2540V]

I keep looking, but to do it right, it is going to take some gas money.
So, I am flying with the paid old, not as good ELT.

Because of the high price, most people will put it off until the last year.
Then there will be shortages.

[bradbrady]

Because of the high price, most people will put it off until the last year.
Then there will be shortages.

Then the next year......hopfully price roll backs.....but I doubt it.

[GAHorn]

The first year personal pocket-calculators were available they cost many hundreds of dollars each. When the gadget-freaks got their desires satisfied...the prices of calculators dropped to levels so low that they became giveaways for banks and other businesses to new customers.

I'll wait until they're mandated and the prices fall. But if I flew in the backcountry on a regular basis I'd have a different view.

Aviation Consumer might have an article on them. Anybody have a copy?

[N2865C]

Just to clarify this, it's my understanding that it is not mandated that you get a new ELT next year. The new system looks much better than the 121.5 version and I think George is right about prices coming down when demand increases and competition sets in.

From the AOPA:

ELTs were originally intended for use on the 121.5-MHz frequency to alert air traffic control and aircraft monitoring the frequency. In 1982 a satellite-based monitoring system was implemented (COSPAS-SARSAT) to provide a better receiving source for these signals. As of February 1, 2009, the international COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system will discontinue satellite-based monitoring of the 121.5/243-MHz frequencies, in part because of a high number of false signals attributed with these frequencies. While there's no requirement in the United States to replace the first- and second-generation 121.5-MHz ELTs, after this date, 121.5/243-MHz distress signals transmitted from ELTs operating on the lower frequency will only be detected by ground-based receivers such as local airport facilities and air traffic control facilities or by overflying aircraft. It is important to note that after 2009, existing 121.5-MHz ELTs, although still legal from the FAA's perspective, will provide extremely limited assistance if an aircraft crashes, especially in a remote location.
http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/regulatory/elt.html

[hilltop170]

The Civil Air Patrol and National Guard will still have their 121.5 direction finding gear to help locate known signals but the satellite will no longer alert on 121.5 as stated above. I haven't heard of any 406 direction finding gear coming out as the new 406 ELTs will still be transmitting on 121.5 as well.

For those flying in remote areas, now might be a good time to get a satellite phone. They are expensive but folks I know who have used them in when in trouble say they have paid for themselves several times over.

The A.C.K. brand ELTs (with the eight D flashlight batteries) is reporting they will be coming out with a drop-in replacement for the old 121.5 units at around $600 next summer in time for the Feb, 2009 cut-off. It will use the same mount, coax, remote switch, and antenna as the existing units according to A.C.K..

[c170b53]

Thks thats what I wanted to hear as I have their "d" cell 121.5

[N2540V]

From AOPA.

The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) is warning pilots they should be concerned that revisions to a regulation's wording could mean mandatory installation of 406 ELTs in all Canadian aircraft -- and transient aircraft, too. In a letter from Kevin Psutka, president and CEO, Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, Psutka states that "low-cost alternatives to ELTs have all but been ruled out for our sector of aviation." Because the U.S. does not mandate 406 ELTs, "thousands of U.S. aircraft will be banned from Canada," posing a particular problem for aircraft transiting to and from Alaska. COPA is advising its members that the next opportunity for comment will be when the draft regulation is publicly announced. While COPA seeks alternatives, it is also advising members in the market for an ELT to equip with a 406 ELT. "The battery must not be LiSO2 and, for a 406 ELT, it must be coded for Canada and registered with the National Search and Rescue Secretariat.

[jrenwick]

Yikes! This is an alarming development, if it means what you say. I can't find anything about it on the AOPA web site, and most of COPA's on-line information seems to be closed to non-members. Can you give us a link to what you read?

Thanks!

John

[n3833v]

Here is the link to what was said by COPA Pres.

http://www.copanational.org/non-members/index.htm

[jrenwick]

Thanks! I've stopped hyperventilating, because it sounds like this won't take effect before 2009 (I'm planning an Alaska trip this summer). Still, this is a nasty development if it takes effect. I'd never heard the statistic that in half the accident cases where there is real distress, ELTs have failed to activate. If that's true, it hardly makes sense to mandate a new type of ELT that will cost 5-10 times as much as the old ones!

From the beginning, the history of ELT laws has been a solution that does not scale. It sounds like that isn't changing.

Best Regards,

John

[HA]

the new 406 ELT's are far better units than before.

when I became chief pilot for our company we had the cheapest ELT's we could get away with. one of our PA30's crashed with one of my best friends flying it, and the cheap ELT didn't activate until I kicked it in the debris field the next morning. obviously it was of no help to us during the night.

ever since I have put quality units into our airplanes, and we have been upgrading to new 406 units as each aircraft comes through the shop. you can get a good Artex unit for less than a grand. sometimes that's cheap, what do you pay for insurance on the material value of your airplane?

but that's my reason. not everyone has the same experiences.

[GAHorn]

I didn't devote a lot of memory space to this, but... if I recall correctly.... ELT requirements sprang out of a congressman who went missing up in the snow country somewhere.... so they required ELT's on light-planes. Not airliners. Not business jets. Just light planes. The ones that leave 'em activated when the owner goes home after a weekend of bounces at the local field.

(Can't figure out why anyone would bother to go looking for a missing congressman anyways.)

[N3243A]

That accident would be the loss of the C-310 flying from Anchorage to Juneau in 1972. Aboard were Congressmen Nick Begich (D-AK) and Hale Boggs (D-LA). At the time, this was the biggest search in the history of the country, involving 40 military and 20 civilian aircraft. Everything from Coast Guard helicopters and cutters, to Air Force spy aircraft, as well as numerous private aircraft. After thirty-nine days the air search was abandoned. His son Mark Begich is the the current Mayor of Anchorage and is taxing the town to death. Tie down fees at Merrill Field have gone up dramatically since he took office, to say nothing of property taxes. He is one reason I left Los Anchorage for Wasilla.

Bruce

[N2540V]

COPA’s primary concern, emphasized many times over the 10-year history of this issue, is that a fixed alerting device that depends on surviving an accident has proven to be an unreliable method for signaling distress.

There are several reasons for ELT's failure.
Cheep accelerometers, poor installation and the accident itself.

Most 121.5 ELT's are installed with the antenna on the top of the aircraft.
Many aircraft flip on impact and snap off the antenna. This is why your 121.5 ELT should have a manual antenna you can use.

My wife's airplane is cloth covered steel tubing body. I mounted the antenna inside with no external antenna. Not an option for a 170, but much safer for her.