What you need more than a parachute Trevor Jacob

[201er]

Trevor Jacob crashed a plane as a publicity stunt with the message that "a lot of pilots can learn from my experience. Please fly with a parachute." If there's one thing we learned from his video, rather than wear a parachute, it should be bring a PLB. Yes, I know the whole thing is a staged stunt, but that has no bearing on real pilots. However, do think about what you would do if you piloted your plane down to the river bed in the canyon during a real emergency. If your cell phone doesn't work, you would rely on your ELT. However, if you have to venture away from your airplane or your airplane sinks after ditching in water, a PLB could be the difference between rescue or not.

A PLB is a Personal Locator Beacon that when activated, finds your GPS location and transmits it to satellites on 406mhz like an ELT. It works around the world and does no require cell phone coverage. So feel free to ignore Trevor Jacob's silly recommendation to wear a sport skydiving parachute for every occupant whenever you fly an airplane. But, do consider purchasing a PLB to make search and rescue more likely to be a success.

If there's a second thing we learned is that his wallet is made for idiots and if you don't want to be investigated by the FAA and FBI, then don't get that wallet.

[EricJ]

I have one that I use for hiking, kayaking, etc., and will throw it in the flight bag once in a while, especially in the winter.

[Boilermonkey]

And if you do take a PLB, make sure it is not just in hands reach, but actually attached to you.  There are some cases where you might need to egress fast...or can't fully move.  

[toto]

Out of curiosity, for those of you who use a portable emergency thingy, do you use an ELT-style PLB or a Spot-style satellite communicator?

I've been on the fence about buying one or the other, and haven't really come to any conclusion. The PLB seems idiot-proof and free, but there's something attractive about the two-way communication that a Spot/Inreach would allow. 

[Ragsf15e]

I agree with you about the PLB (although I don’t currently have one), but my other planned self-rescue techniques/technology are flight following, pushing the red ELT button on my panel well before any forced landing, and carrying my portable radio with extra batteries.  ELT is hooked up to gps and it’s 406mhz so that should work well.  Using a portable on 121.5 should get a response from an airliner at some point.

Granted, if I was down in remote county I’d prefer a PLB.

[Boilermonkey]

I use a spot gen3.  They have a plan with a small annual fee and then you only get charged on months you use it.  ...which I hope never to do.

[Brandt]

8 hours ago, toto said:

Out of curiosity, for those of you who use a portable emergency thingy, do you use an ELT-style PLB or a Spot-style satellite communicator?

I've been on the fence about buying one or the other, and haven't really come to any conclusion. The PLB seems idiot-proof and free, but there's something attractive about the two-way communication that a Spot/Inreach would allow. 

I use the ZOLEO sat communicator.  Have found it easy to use, and the inflight messaging ability has been useful. 

[kortopates]

I have the 406 ELT in the plane ready to flip the switch in an emergency, it’s wired to my GTN for WAAS position source. I also have the portable 406 ELT if i need it on the ground and aren’t incapacitated. Lastly I can communicate my actual needs to SAR via my Garmin inReach via text messages.

There is also a portable radio, plus a survival pack with water, food, first aid kit, shelter material and signaling devices including strobe, mirror and marine flares. Each annual it gets re-packed.

Don’t count on flight following to get you aide faster since most lost aircraft don’t communicate or don’t have time too. Filing a VFR flight plan gives SAR folks much needed information to find you fastest. But always leave your cell on since the first thing SAR folks do these days is have your mobile carrier ping your cell phone for a location. But if you don’t have a 406 to activate, nor able to get a radio call out like most, it could be many hours before anyone starts looking for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TTaylor]

12 hours ago, toto said:

Out of curiosity, for those of you who use a portable emergency thingy, do you use an ELT-style PLB or a Spot-style satellite communicator?

I've been on the fence about buying one or the other, and haven't really come to any conclusion. The PLB seems idiot-proof and free, but there's something attractive about the two-way communication that a Spot/Inreach would allow. 

I use a SPOT Gen 3 and you can register it with Flight Service.  Mine runs in tracking mode so it sends out a location every 5 minutes. I place it on the glare shield during flights and it almost never misses a point (maybe 1 in 200), so very reliable.  The nice thing is that if you crash and are incapacitated there is a bread crumb trail of where you have been.  You can manually also hit the emergency button as well as just send updates to friends or family.  If you register your spot with Flight Service they can check your trace if you are overdue. 

[EricJ]

13 hours ago, toto said:

Out of curiosity, for those of you who use a portable emergency thingy, do you use an ELT-style PLB or a Spot-style satellite communicator?

I've been on the fence about buying one or the other, and haven't really come to any conclusion. The PLB seems idiot-proof and free, but there's something attractive about the two-way communication that a Spot/Inreach would allow. 

I have a 406 ELT in the airplane, and a 406 PLB that I got for other things but bring along in the airplane sometimes.   It is the same registration process for each and neither require fees or subscriptions.