DBII
Senior Master Sergeant
Last fall it was explained to me as Killed In Action
What Annoyed You Today?
- Thread starter mosquitoman
- Start date
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cvairwerks
Staff Sergeant
Had to order some new shoes. Old ones are getting pretty run down on one side of the heel. Bummer is I had to order from the UK to get anything but white or black in my size. Wearing a size 11, 6E width is a pain for shoes now. New Balance are about the only ones that make anything that fit and last more than a couple months. I go thru shoes at a minimum of 3 pair a year and nearly 200$ a pop....
MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
Today I placed an order for what probably is the largest purchase in monetary terms that I have ever placed by credit card over the Internet. And I am P.Oed.
In 1973 I briefed our AFROTC class on a new FAA requirement. In Oct 1972 Hale Boggs, a powerful Democrat congressman, disappeared on a flight over AK. As a result of this, the US Congress passed a law requiring the installation of an Emergency Locator Transmitter in all US aircraft, the exception being training aircraft that will not venture further than 20 miles from their home base and jets. Costing in the $100 range, ELTS ere designed to transmit beeping signals on 121.5 and 243.0 MHZ when activated either manually or by a sufficient impact force. The Cessna 310 that vanished with Congressman Boggs was required to have an ELT but no signals were heard and the NTSB concluded that an ELT was not on board. Upset by the loss of their colleague, Congress mandated that virtually all US light aircraft be equipped with ELT's.
Soon after, the FAA discovered that activations of ELTs were very common; a typical month saw 500 reported. almost all of these were accidental, the result of maintenance activity or hard landings. And most genuine crashes occurred on or very close to airports, where an ELT was no help in locating the wreck. The launch of SARSAT payloads on TIROS NOAA and Soviet weather satellites in the early 1980's helped identify emitting ELT locations but also made sorting out the false activations even more difficult.
Often ELTS, even when activated, were of little help in finding crash sites. For example, when a rental Cessna 150 disappeared on a flight from our airport several years back the area where it went down was first located by IDing which cell tower could find the pilot's cellphone. The ELT signal was not found until an aircraft flew in the vicinity of that cell tower. A friend of mine, a pilot for the Sheriff's Dept, says that he has been on a number of lost aircraft searches but has never seen an ELT signal be of any use in finding a crashed aircraft.
Unwilling to notify Congress that the millions of dollars imposed on the private sector by their angst over the loss of their friend were mostly wasted, the FAA needed to do something to lift the burden of responding to all those unnecessary signals. So, first the 121.5/243 monitoring capability was deleted from the later SARSAT payloads and was replaced by the monitoring of a new frequency, 406 MHZ. The ELTs equipped with 406 MHZ would have to include coded signals that gave the aircraft N-number, which would not really help find lost aircraft but would enable those responsible to be identified and fined. The 121.5/243 units would be phased out.
The General Aviation community howled over this action. Not only did ELTs already have to be procured, installed, maintained, the batteries replaced periodically and annual tests accomplished, but now the old ones would have to be tossed out and new much more expensive units procured and installed. The FAA responded that if one of the older units was installed it could be retained and meet the basic requirement, but new production aircraft had to employ the new 406 MHZ units. That mortified the Gen Av community a bit - but then the FCC ordered that the older units could no longer be manufactured, meaning that eventually new ones would have to be procured and installed as the old ones wore out.
The newer units are also required to have a a warning light on the instrument panel, along with an Off Switch to arm and disarm the ELT, as well as an an audio alarm to indicate if it has been activated, making installation a lot more challenging than the old ones, which could be just strapped down in the aft area of the cockpit or baggage compartment.
The new ELT I finally selected to replace the old failed one cost me about $850; the battery has to replaced NLT 5 years, at a cost of about $250. The old one it is replacing cost about $150 new and had a battery that had to be relaced every 2 years at a cost of $40. And once again, this increased cost is due to the FAA trying to get out from under the burden of dealing with a requirement imposed by Congress, not for increased safety. Personal locator beacons capable of not only signaling the SARSAT birds but also supplying GPS position information at the same time are available for only $250 - $400, but that will not meet the FAA requirement.
So, I am P.Oed.
In 1973 I briefed our AFROTC class on a new FAA requirement. In Oct 1972 Hale Boggs, a powerful Democrat congressman, disappeared on a flight over AK. As a result of this, the US Congress passed a law requiring the installation of an Emergency Locator Transmitter in all US aircraft, the exception being training aircraft that will not venture further than 20 miles from their home base and jets. Costing in the $100 range, ELTS ere designed to transmit beeping signals on 121.5 and 243.0 MHZ when activated either manually or by a sufficient impact force. The Cessna 310 that vanished with Congressman Boggs was required to have an ELT but no signals were heard and the NTSB concluded that an ELT was not on board. Upset by the loss of their colleague, Congress mandated that virtually all US light aircraft be equipped with ELT's.
Soon after, the FAA discovered that activations of ELTs were very common; a typical month saw 500 reported. almost all of these were accidental, the result of maintenance activity or hard landings. And most genuine crashes occurred on or very close to airports, where an ELT was no help in locating the wreck. The launch of SARSAT payloads on TIROS NOAA and Soviet weather satellites in the early 1980's helped identify emitting ELT locations but also made sorting out the false activations even more difficult.
Often ELTS, even when activated, were of little help in finding crash sites. For example, when a rental Cessna 150 disappeared on a flight from our airport several years back the area where it went down was first located by IDing which cell tower could find the pilot's cellphone. The ELT signal was not found until an aircraft flew in the vicinity of that cell tower. A friend of mine, a pilot for the Sheriff's Dept, says that he has been on a number of lost aircraft searches but has never seen an ELT signal be of any use in finding a crashed aircraft.
Unwilling to notify Congress that the millions of dollars imposed on the private sector by their angst over the loss of their friend were mostly wasted, the FAA needed to do something to lift the burden of responding to all those unnecessary signals. So, first the 121.5/243 monitoring capability was deleted from the later SARSAT payloads and was replaced by the monitoring of a new frequency, 406 MHZ. The ELTs equipped with 406 MHZ would have to include coded signals that gave the aircraft N-number, which would not really help find lost aircraft but would enable those responsible to be identified and fined. The 121.5/243 units would be phased out.
The General Aviation community howled over this action. Not only did ELTs already have to be procured, installed, maintained, the batteries replaced periodically and annual tests accomplished, but now the old ones would have to be tossed out and new much more expensive units procured and installed. The FAA responded that if one of the older units was installed it could be retained and meet the basic requirement, but new production aircraft had to employ the new 406 MHZ units. That mortified the Gen Av community a bit - but then the FCC ordered that the older units could no longer be manufactured, meaning that eventually new ones would have to be procured and installed as the old ones wore out.
The newer units are also required to have a a warning light on the instrument panel, along with an Off Switch to arm and disarm the ELT, as well as an an audio alarm to indicate if it has been activated, making installation a lot more challenging than the old ones, which could be just strapped down in the aft area of the cockpit or baggage compartment.
The new ELT I finally selected to replace the old failed one cost me about $850; the battery has to replaced NLT 5 years, at a cost of about $250. The old one it is replacing cost about $150 new and had a battery that had to be relaced every 2 years at a cost of $40. And once again, this increased cost is due to the FAA trying to get out from under the burden of dealing with a requirement imposed by Congress, not for increased safety. Personal locator beacons capable of not only signaling the SARSAT birds but also supplying GPS position information at the same time are available for only $250 - $400, but that will not meet the FAA requirement.
So, I am P.Oed.
MiTasol
1st Lieutenant
You left out that in about half of all accidents the ELT fails to transmit because they do not work under water or if the antenna is torn off.
Smart operators in PNG have been using supplemental units for the last 20 years.
The https://www.spidertracks.com units that we use work the opposite to an ELT and cost peanuts in comparison to buy and fit. There are no batteries as it is powered off the aircraft bus.
The unit starts transmitting to a satellite as soon as turned on. Each ping costs you a small fee and you can set your ping time to suit your operations. We use 1 minute because the terrain in PNG is extremely rugged and chances of survival are directly related to the time before rescue. If the aircraft has an accident it fails to ping and then the system sends text messages to 6 phones and 6 emails. Other operators may use more or less contacts. The texts and emails identify the aircraft, its speed, altitude and heading at the time of the last ping. This allows for a very tight search area starting at 45degrees either side of track for the maximum distance the aircraft could fly in one minute then extending to 90 degree and then 270 then 360. When that close it is theoretically possible to track an ELT signal from an unit with a broken antenna.
Smart operators in PNG have been using supplemental units for the last 20 years.
The https://www.spidertracks.com units that we use work the opposite to an ELT and cost peanuts in comparison to buy and fit. There are no batteries as it is powered off the aircraft bus.
The unit starts transmitting to a satellite as soon as turned on. Each ping costs you a small fee and you can set your ping time to suit your operations. We use 1 minute because the terrain in PNG is extremely rugged and chances of survival are directly related to the time before rescue. If the aircraft has an accident it fails to ping and then the system sends text messages to 6 phones and 6 emails. Other operators may use more or less contacts. The texts and emails identify the aircraft, its speed, altitude and heading at the time of the last ping. This allows for a very tight search area starting at 45degrees either side of track for the maximum distance the aircraft could fly in one minute then extending to 90 degree and then 270 then 360. When that close it is theoretically possible to track an ELT signal from an unit with a broken antenna.
Greg Boeser
2nd Lieutenant
Sitting in waiting room, while my wife is supposed to be having a routine endoscopy. She is supposed to be done already, but they haven't even seen her yet.
Njaco
The Pop-Tart Whisperer
I hate getting old. Even going to the bathroom becomes an Olympic event. I can't really say much but there is urine on the wall and crap on my hand. Uugghhh.
Was alcohol involved?
Njaco
The Pop-Tart Whisperer
Unfortunately No! I wish cause at least I would have an excuse. The Pre-wife can't stop laughing.
MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
I'll bet it was in the cleanup.
special ed
2nd Lieutenant
- 5,718
- May 13, 2018
Sounds like you need to install a seat belt.
MiTasol
1st Lieutenant
.. the eye drops I use may be responsible for deaths and injuries in the USA. They come from a well known supplier but nowhere on the tube does it say where they are made and what they contain. I am replacing them.
If you use eye drops read this.
arstechnica.com
If you use eye drops read this.
One more dead in horrific eye drop outbreak that now spans 18 states
Bacteria in the recalled drops are so drug-resistant, docs turn to phage therapy.
Vic Balshaw
Major General
Scary.
at6
1st Sergeant
Most reports have said that they are made in India... the eye drops I use may be responsible for deaths and injuries in the USA. They come from a well known supplier but nowhere on the tube does it say where they are made and what they contain. I am replacing them.
If you use eye drops read this.
One more dead in horrific eye drop outbreak that now spans 18 states
Bacteria in the recalled drops are so drug-resistant, docs turn to phage therapy.
MiTasol
1st Lieutenant
Yes.
Given the number of people poisoned by various Indian medications in the last 12 months I will not touch an Indian medication. For dodgy meds they now surpass China.
As an aside in PNG Rotary routinely collect samples of all the anti-malarial meds and send them to Chicago for analysis. The best anti-malerial is Chinese and all the placebos and sugar pills are also Chinese.
Given the number of people poisoned by various Indian medications in the last 12 months I will not touch an Indian medication. For dodgy meds they now surpass China.
As an aside in PNG Rotary routinely collect samples of all the anti-malarial meds and send them to Chicago for analysis. The best anti-malerial is Chinese and all the placebos and sugar pills are also Chinese.
MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
My brother, a pharmacist, says there is an Indian town and a Chinese town that are just across the border from each other and both are noted for drug production. How much of the stuff that comes from India in reality comes from China, we will never know. It's like some of the low tech items that came from "West Germany" but in reality were slipped across the Iron Curtain from East Germany.
Bucksnort101
2nd Lieutenant
Back issues just starting up again a few days before I take vacation.
N4521U
Colonel
My Microsoft mouse is giving me the blithering shits..............
right button is hopeless,,,,,,,,,,,,, Just WT!
right button is hopeless,,,,,,,,,,,,, Just WT!
Vic Balshaw
Major General
Maybe time for a new one, mine is wireless. Failing that switch the buttons around so that left is doing all the work.
N4521U
Colonel
It Never did work and only a few months I been fighting it.Maybe time for a new one, mine is wireless. Failing that switch the buttons around so that left is doing all the work.
