So how many midairs is ok?
You can use the same argument to justify mandatory ADS-B out in all aircraft.
In any case, it's a cost/benefit relationship. The plane I was flying 35 years ago (same model I fly now) had non-shielded ignition. Wearing a headset was like strapping two popcorn poppers to my ears. Upgrading to a shielded system would have cost the club probably about a third of the nominal value of the airplane (I say "nominal" because it was a historic aircraft with possible higher value...it's in a museum now).
I (and the other members of the club) were willing to separate from other aircraft the official FAA way: See and avoid. *I* had no problem not hearing radio calls from other aircraft. Everyone entering the pattern knew that there might be NORDO aircraft present. One of the flight schools actually shut down their radios because they were distracting during instruction.
To paraphrase Earnie Gann: "Avionics are silicon and copper. They will not cushion a sudden meeting of aluminum."
Let's take a look at the midair at Centennial. They had EVERYTHING going for them. Transponders. Radios. ADS-B. A *control tower* for Chrissakes.
Yet they had a sudden meeting of composite and aluminum.
I whipped through my 1998-2018 homebuilt accident database, looking for cases where the NTSB mentioned communications in the Probable Cause. There were 51 midairs involving homebuilt aircraft. On many of them, both pilots claimed to have been making the normal calls.
NYC02LA141B is the first one I found where the lack of a radio was noted in the Probable Cause.
"According to the pilot of the KitFox, he had landed on the grass area adjacent to runway 26, a 3,500-foot-long, 65-foot-wide, asphalt runway. The KitFox was taxied eastbound on the grass, where the pilot "looked down the runway," observing that there was no traffic on the runway or on final approach. He then announced on the common traffic advisory frequency that he was going to "back taxi" on the active runway. As the KitFox entered onto runway 26, it was struck by the Waco, which was on rollout from landing."
So...was the problem the lack of radio on the Waco, or the fact that the Kitfox, on the ground, decided to back-taxi on an active runway without sufficiently visually confirming there was no traffic? Was the Kitfox pilot, perhaps, a little TOO reliant on his radio?
Here's the second, ERA12LA100A:
"...They reported that the RV-6 was equipped with a radio and the Pitts was not. Both airplanes were in the airport traffic pattern after completing a local flight, and the pilots were flying a visual approach to runway 24. The pilot of the RV-6 flew a "tighter" traffic pattern and made radio calls. The pilot of the Pitts flew a wider traffic pattern and did not see the RV-6 ahead and below. As the airplanes landed nearly simultaneously on runway 24, the propeller of the Pitts contacted and partially separated the empennage of the RV-6."
One probable contributor here was the poor visibility from the Pitts.
So, there's three airplanes (two accidents) where the NTSB considered the lack of a radio to be a factor. Over a 21-year period. Ironically, neither of these accidents resulted in fatalities.
If you read the narratives of the cases where both pilots DID use radios, it's interesting. "Yes, I DID make the normal radio calls. No, I didn't hear the other airplane." In at least one case, they blamed the frequency as being too busy.
The basic problem I see is over-reliance on the electronics. "I didn't hear an announcement on the radio...so, obviously, the way was clear."
I don't argue that a radio can be an important safety tool. Unfortunately, too many pilots use them as crutches. I felt safer NORDO, where I *knew* no one knew I was there. I just assumed everyone else was Mister Magoo, and everything was fine. I actually wrote an article on NORDO operations, titled "Do it Yourself Stealth (and How to Survive It)".
Favorite case was when I was on downwind once. Cessna 172 came in to join on the 45, at exactly my altitude. Got a *real* good look at the pilot. Never turned his head to the side to see if there were any other airplanes on the downwind. But I'm sure he made all his radio calls.
I agree, but generally I'm gonna make a 5 or10 mile "inbound" announcement. If there is traffic, they will know I'm headed their way. If there is "radio silent" traffic in the pattern, hopefully they will make an announcement that clues me into which runway they are using.
Now that I fly a plane with shielded ignition, I'm a good boy and make position calls. But, of course, someone else's "5 or 10 miles" may not match my own. I call when I'm a mile from a prominent landmark used for pattern entry. I don't call further out because my plane is so slow.
Ron Wanttaja
