Sun Nov 18, 2012 10:00 pm
#1120003
Lovely flying weather today, sky was busy. I lost count of the number of aircraft I spotted in 2 hours flight, yet I often don't see any for hours. It was so busy that twice I needed to give way to other aircraft en route. One of the occasions got me thinking after the flight.
I spotted traffic in my 1 o clock at a fair distance, level with me and not moving much, so I began a gentle right turn until it was in my 11 o clock, moving steadily towards 10. I was satisfied we were not on a collision course, so I stopped turning but kept watching. A second later the other aircraft sharply turned to its right and flew into my 9 o clock. I wondered whether I had done something to spook the other pilot, or if he'd just not seen me until that moment and decided he needed to give way to me (I was presumably on his right by that time).
It occurred to me that if you're too precise about just turning until you observe relative movement you could still end up creating a near miss that you could have prevented. I guess the strategy for gaining the widest possible margin would be to put the other aircraft in your 9 o clock. Any thoughts?
I spotted traffic in my 1 o clock at a fair distance, level with me and not moving much, so I began a gentle right turn until it was in my 11 o clock, moving steadily towards 10. I was satisfied we were not on a collision course, so I stopped turning but kept watching. A second later the other aircraft sharply turned to its right and flew into my 9 o clock. I wondered whether I had done something to spook the other pilot, or if he'd just not seen me until that moment and decided he needed to give way to me (I was presumably on his right by that time).
It occurred to me that if you're too precise about just turning until you observe relative movement you could still end up creating a near miss that you could have prevented. I guess the strategy for gaining the widest possible margin would be to put the other aircraft in your 9 o clock. Any thoughts?