Brian In this day and age of litigation and fine print "get out of jail free" clauses, I would think that any savvy insurer's lawyers would pick up on the pilot being above 10,000 ft without oxygen and try to invalidate the cover.
Even more worrying, when I asked about how oxygen (or lack thereof) applied to FAI badge/certificate claims, I was told that it is not checked. Indeed, there is no requirement on the part of the Official Observer to make sure that the flight was legal with regard to airspace violations or the carriage of oxygen. I found this amazing, and still do. Why on earth are the FAI (and OOs and Certificates Officers) allowing pilots to tempt fate by flying in a manner which is clearly illegal as well as potentially dangerous ? OK, so maybe different countries have different legal requirements to comply, but surely the basic idea of "thou shalt conduct your badge flight according to the laws of the countries in which you fly" should be a mandatory part of the FAI Sporting Code rules. In the years I've been flying I know of several pilots who have successfully claimed gold heights when they flew well above 10,000 ft without oxygen. As for me, I'll wait until a wave camp or XC camp where I'm carrying the right gear before I get above 10,000 ft. No ifs or buts about it. Cheers Jason On Mon, 23 Aug 2004 10:29:52 +1000, Brian Wade wrote > From the recent list discussion on oxygen systems, it is obvious that a number of pilots are considering fitting oxygen systems to their aircraft. That is good news indeed, but I wonder how many have fully thought through the possible consequences of NOT using oxygen? > > The GFA Op Regs clearly state: > > "Supplementary oxygen shall be used by all occupants of a sailplane above 10,000 feet AMSL." > > I wonder what would be the insurance implications should there be a mid air collision at a height above 10,000 ft involving one or more gliders not fitted with an oxygen system? > > For competitions, should not traces be checked for "oxygen altitude violations" in the same way as they are for airspace violations and appropriate penalties applied if oxygen was not carried? > > But quite apart from the regulations, this is surely a common sense safety issue. Lack of oxygen, water and nourishment can all affect our judgement to the extent that we make seemingly unexplainable mistakes. As I see it we pay close attention to the latter, but not enough to the former. Many will attest to the fact that fatigue levels are less when oxygen is used and that it is beneficial to use it well below the statutory 10,000 ft level. > > > -- > Brian Wade > > Personal Computer Concepts > Control SPAM with MailWasher Pro > Uniform Time > http://www.uniformtime.com.au > PO Box 114 INDOOROOPILLY QLD 4068 > Ph: 07 3371 2944 Fax: 07 3870 4103 _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
