gaznav wrote:I normally get loads of alerts from FLARMs left on by gliders on the ground when I’m coming in to land. I have resisted the temptation to mute the warnings from SkyEcho/SkyDemon ;and one day I was really pleased I didn’t when during a touch and go it directed my sight towards a motorglider calling downwind as I turned x-wind to downwind. I hadn’t seen him until that warning.
EC is often it’s most useful in the circuit, and around airfields, where many of these rare mid airs occur. That’s not that surprising really seeing as we are all trying to land on the same bit of ground! So, just live with the annoying warnings, and if you’re a glider pilot then please be courteous and turn the FLARM off when you park up on the grid!
Flarm is one thing, but I agree with Gaznaz, it is well worth resisting the temptation there is some useful information and warnings to be had. It has proved invalueable at L2K on more than one occasion.
Never the less, this may be just "one of those events". I suppose no one expected an aircraft to fly from base straight through the final approach of another airline having turned base inside his approach track with the instruction to turn final before reaching his approach track. The difference between turning final and continuing base to collide would have been no time at all, and probably almost entirely down to the Cirrus to spot the other traffic.
If nothing else, and to state the obvious, it does demonstrate how incredibly dangereous it is to allow an aircraft to turn base inside any other aircraft such that their turn final will come around the point they come together. Presumably as it is this would have left both aircraft steaming down final at the same time and about parallel as I ma guessing their approach speeds would also not be that dissimiliar. Far to early to apportion blame, but the controller may hve issues with positioning, and might have wished he had asked to extend downwind for spacing.