loco wrote:
Laptop and satellite data device not to get bored?So “Netflix and chill” while waiting for SAR in the raft is your idea of a romantic evening? ;-)
This is bound to happen…
(0:51 in)
[edited to make YT video show up]
Arne wrote:
So “Netflix and chill” while waiting for SAR in the raft is your idea of a romantic evening? ;-)
I think you watch too much Netflix 
Tablet and film is very handy for pax while they are waiting for you to “clear the weather”
I bought 2 dry suits made for sailing at a Dutch Sail Supply store. They cost 400 euro and are made to fit and breath very well. Depending on the temperature of the sea water I would wear thermal clothing underneath. On top, I wear a life-vest and linked to that a PLB. I have the same setup for my wife. It takes just a few minutes to put on, is not uncomfortable as it breathes well. I have been in the water with this drysuit (and even once rescued by the British RNLI while sailing a catamaran on the North Sea), so know how cold it can be if you do not wear proper clothing underneath. In addition, I have a life-raft at hand in the hope that I can grab it, inflate it and somehow get in.
For the rest … I just fly over water, sometimes even for hours and use the Garmin Inreach tracker to provide updates per 5 minutes to my homefront. I think that this is about all I can do other than stay at home.
This image was taken on a very early morning flight from Rotterdam to the UK over the North sea together with a friend.
Considering the med currently: Cirrus + Caps ditching + Life raft — dry suit= safe?
Inreach or SPOT have the advantage of providing a breadcrumb trail for SAR to follow. I haven’t heard of it actually being used on a real SAR mission in Europe though.
I haven’t heard of it actually being used on a real SAR mission in Europe though.
I reckon this information is valuable only if somebody is watching your flight. Most of the high media profile record breaking / charity / fake charity / etc flights have involved heavy logistical support with a 24/7 staffed base and thus somebody was watching the progress. You could probably write some bit of software which would receive the data and alert the search people if you don’t land at a preconfigured destination by a certain time, but would you trust it? In the UK at least, it is not allowed for an alarm system to call the police directly, for this reason.
I usually have people from our own company monitoring my flights, but you can add the sat-tracker URL to the Other information section in your flight plan, so that SAR can find you more easily.
Thanks that’s a great idea! Will add the plane’s satcomm number and Spot tracking link and the info from the 406 PLB to the flight plan.
Would you recommend wearing thermal neoprene suits?
chflyer wrote:
I haven’t heard of it actually being used on a real SAR mission in Europe though.
As you would expect, Spot have a lot of rescue stories on their website and they are mainly in North America but browsing through I’ve seen some in Australia and NZ.
A Scottish rescue was in the news recently.
In the US spot is popular with glider pilots as some of the good soaring area are remote and mobile phone coverage to organise a retrieve after a land-out sparse.
