Flight Following for the Masses

Bill Clem

Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2004
Messages
126
I just found the most amazing device that should be standard equipment for most pilots... it might have even saved Steve Fossett. I spent about 25 years of my life deeply engaged in mountain rescue work in the U.S. and Europe. My "specialty" was technical rock rescue, like Yosemite or Joshua Tree. But every so often I was called upon to participate in search operations. Only once, in 25 years, did I personally ever find anyone. Usually it was someone else looking in an area that I had just walked by. Looking for someone in a wilderness area makes looking for a needle in a haystack easy. You might have followed the giant search for Steve Fossett and gotten an idea of how tough it is. Most aviation services use flight following to keep track of their aircraft so if the aircraft goes missing it greatly narrows the search area. Recent upgrades in ELT's have allowed the newer units to broadcast a GPS location to the SARSAT satellites, rather than requiring ground or air based assets to search with direction finding equipment. Now there is a handy, relatively inexpensive gizmo that allows any of us to have flight following. It's called a Spot. (www.findmespot.com) It will pick up its location from GPS satellites, and then broadcast that location to a series of commercial satellites and then download that information to a website, allowing someone to follow the track. Or it can make an emergency 911 call. Or even reassure your family that you are okay. The basic unit is $170 plus $100 yearly subscription cost. For another $50 yearly you can get the tracking service. Push a button and it will automatically update your position every 10 minutes. Flight Following for pennies per hour!! If Steve Fossett had used such a device, even it it were destroyed in a crash, searchers would have known his location within 10 minutes flight time of the last reported location.
 
Oh Yes it sounds like a must have thing for that peace of mind when your out flying or hunting.

Its on my wish list when I get my Pitbull up and flying.
 
Thank you Dr. Bill. Good info. I have passed it on to my FW friends.


Cheers :)
 
Great idea loved it, sadly Kenya just out of coverage. Would have given great peace of mind.
 
Bill,

Thanks for sharing information on this amazing gizmo. I ordered one as soon as I read about it. Not only could it save your life it can also be a lot of fun.
 
First Trial

First Trial

I went ahead and bought a Spot at the local REI store yesterday afternoon. I couldn't help but think of those long flights I've made in the gyro to Florida, Texas, Wyoming, even Leadville, without a flight plan. And even if I had filed, the best that could have been done was a search along the flight path from takeoff to proposed landing site. I tested it driving to work this morning. No problems. In a 20 minute drive, it reported my position three times, once just after leaving the house, once enroute and once just getting to work. If I had triggered the "Help" function, it would have texted or emailed a contact. If I had triggered the "911" function, it would have called the nearest 911 center. Otherwise it reports an okay message to an email address of your choosing. If you choose the tracking option, you can go to the Spot website and see the positions on a map. Maybe not a replacement for an ELT, but pretty good. Even in a worst-case scenario, at least the buzzards wouldn't have time to get me. Assuming that any self-respecting buzzard would want me.
 
That looks like a very neat gadget.

I know my loved ones like me to let them know that I have cheated death once again and I don’t always remember. It would be nice to have something remember for me.

I have sometimes found myself out of cell range when I am lost.

This seems to exacerbate the situation.

What does it do if it has no bars?

Thank you, Vance
 
Uh, Vance...

Uh, Vance...

you need to read the first post again. No bars involved. Except maybe the one that you are in when you told your wife that you were fishing. The Spot uses satellite communication only. No cell phone connection is needed. As long as it has a view of the sky and can get access to a GEOS satellite, the message will go through. By the way, REI sells the device for $150. Waterproof, it floats.
 
I've been using one for 3 months now! It works great! Has options to "Check in". You can use it to let someone know when you've arrived safely. It stays in my flight bag!
 
sat phones

sat phones

Sounds like a neat device, and cheaper than a sat phone. However, there are 2 things I can do with my sat phone, that I couldn't with this device: call ahead for customs and open, close or file a flight plan from a remote location. I like to fly (FW) in the far North - thus far I've never had to use my sat phone for an emergency (touch wood) but I sure have used it for customs and flight plans!

Spot could be used for some of this - your contact could call to close a flight plan when he/she receives the OK status e-mail, forexample, but there are times when real-time 2-way communication can be critical.

Thanks,


Neil
 
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