RAA Magazine

[Guest drizzt1978]

Technology wise, nothing. But it seems the term ELB/ELT is used to fixed aircraft installations, that can be armed before flight and activate on impact - if the impact is hard enough! PLB is used to indicate a hand-held unit.That's the way I understand it anyway. The terms are used pretty ambigously, though.

Hmmmmmm......

 

Gets me thinking, when do you set it off, ?? I mean yep thats a nice padock ill make that, woops didnt see that ditch etc etc, or oh dam trees everywhere I will set it off before i hit the ground?

 

 

[Guest basscheffers]

My thoughts: Ideally, you'll have called ATC and given them the location already. If you haven't had time to do that, you probably haven't had time to take out the PLB, unpack and activate it either. (Which probably requires the same two hands you need to fly!)

 

If you can't raise ATC or anyone else (i.e.: your exploding engine took out the electrics) and you or your pax can get it out and activate it, this sounds like a reasonable thing to do.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

I think it would be smart if using a PLB is to have it already out and attached to your person ready to use. briefyour pax in how to use it if you can't activate it. there have aleady been cases of it being activated before the impact/ forced landing. when the landing had been successfull it was turned off and contact made either way to cancel the beacon.

 

Personally i'd go for the PLB as it would be more usefull to me than a fixed only type in an aircraft.