[NSRCA-discussion] Mid-Air discussion

[Keith Black]

Following my mid-air at the N. Dallas contest this weekend there's been an RCU thread started on the subject. From this discussion an interesting idea has evolved. For those who would like to read the thread here's the link: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_6409493/anchors_6413018/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#6413018

If you'd just like to hear the idea I'll paste my RCU posting below:

This is my third mid-air in four seasons. My first may have been avoided, but the last two were a complete shock to both me and my caller. In fact, in mid-air #2 my caller said "you're good" (meaning we were not going to hit). The other pilot's caller walked up to me and apologized saying that he told the other pilot that he was in the clear. Therefore, I don't know how effective a third "spotter" sitting between the lines could be.

That being said, two recent events have given me an idea of how we might be able to greatly improve this problem. The first light bulb was Vicente's suggestion of the spotter that warns the pilots. The second event was my walk out to pick up the fragments of my beloved Brio. As I was walking back I stood for a bit to observe the planes looking down the flight path. It was amazing how clearly you can see each plane as it moves in and out from the flight line. 

So here's the idea: What if we sat a spotter at the corner of the box to watch plane separation in the distance out dimension and then had the other spotter sitting between the judges (or even back under the cover) watching in the right to left dimension. These two spotters could use radios with headsets and continually talk to each other. There are many times that planes appear to be close to a mid-air from the flight line viewpoint, however, the number of times that both spotters would be alarmed should be fairly minimal. When this occurs the spotter could sound an alarm (this deserves discussion as to the details) and each pilot could peel off of their course. If one pilot froze the collision may still be avoided by just one pilot taking action. Sure, this could cause a mid-air, but viewing from two dimensions should help in alerting only when an impact is probable.

Some have stated that they've seen very few mid-airs, but my experience in D6 and NATS is that at least 70% (if not more) of the contests I've attended have had mid-airs. I'm not going to run away crying and quit the hobby due to this mid-air, but reducing such losses would be a benefit to us all!

Keith Black
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