Remote Retrieve Beyond Cell Coverage

I landed out in a canyon once, with nobody around and no cell coverage. I could not reach anyone on 123.3. I made a call on 121.5 and quickly had someone respond. We switched to 123.3, and he was happy to relay my coordinates to the contest site where they sent my crew to my location on a very long dirt road. One of those roads that country music songs and horror movies are written from, but it was an uneventful retrieve, so that was a nice change. My next plan was to activate the ELT, then try and communicate on 121.5.

ELT

I have heard the phrase “The ELT is for the family, for closure,” but it is designed to begin its work after the accident. After the accident, your electrical system might not work. You might be incapacitated and getting a head start on the emergency retrieval. Some have a voice transmit and receive feature, basically giving you a spare radio handheld on 121.5.

SPOT

SPOT X is designed to be able to communicate with your crew when you do not have cell coverage. We have required it from our pilots flying cross country from here because there are many places where cell service does not work. We started this after a pilot flying from another operation spent the night on the mountain, and nobody had any idea where to start looking. Actually, they didn’t realize he was missing until the next day.

If you have tracking, it allows someone to see your last position and then start a search and rescue. The tracking is not perfect; you might be a reasonable distance from the previous mark. But it gets people looking in the right direction. The best part is with glideport.aero; it allows everyone to watch where you are. This is especially important midweek when you call in sick to fly, and all of your flying friends are at work being distracted because they are following your flight.

Before the start of the WGC in Finland, I had planned on flying the Finnish Nationals to prepare. Due to some schedule conflict, I was not able to get there early and arrived off the Ferry at 9 am, on the first day. So I drove to the airfield, where I was convinced it would be a great idea to race and it was not too late. I am given a USB stick with turnpoints, and someone helps me assemble. I make it into the grid before the last launches and fly the task, at least most of it. The conditions deteriorate, and I land out. I never added an international plan to my cell phone because I was going to get a new SIM card, however, I was too busy flying.

I used my new inReach to send a message to Adam Woolley’s email, hoping he will receive it, and not in his spam folder. Many hours later, Adam drives up to my field, and I have never been so happy to see him.

Why do I have both?

An ELT is to help find the wreckage; hopefully, of course, you are still alive. Some have a voice function, and we could even communicate with it if our aircraft radio is no longer working. SPOT is for tracking and communication with my crew if there is no cell coverage. It could be used in an emergency; however, I would need to be conscious to activate it.

Photo by Sean Franke

 Garret Willat holds a flight instructor rating with over 8000 hours in sailplanes. His parents have owned Sky Sailing Inc. since 1979. He started instructing the day after his 18th birthday. Since then, Garret has represented the US Junior team in 2003 and 2005. He graduated from Embry-Riddle with a bachelor's degree in Professional Aeronautics. Garret represented the US Open Class team in 2008 and 2010 and the Club Class team in 2014. Garret has won 3 US National Championships.