Glider A & B Crets.

[Adrian14MZ]

Hi lads. I take it you all have seen this.

Adrian.
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To all Club Secretaries:
 
Attached please find Appendix L which was ratified at the last Council meeting. Please arrange to distribute this appendix to all your club members especially to all current examiners and pupils training for A certs. This document has the current requirements for the A + B scheme. It will be especially important to all those examiners who did not attend the last A + B course as it contains the requirements for the Glider A + B certs. Should you or any of your club members have any questions about the document please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you.
 
Liam Butler
A + B Coordinator.

[Fred]

Yep saw that. We actually wrote it 

As a reminder, while we're at it, I would encourage everybody to pass the test(s)!
Read the questions, they are common sense, and the maneuvers are basically what you do all the time at the slope. You just need to perform them in a set order, that is all

[Adrian14MZ]

Hi Fred.
You say we actually wrote it.

Who is we ?

Adrian.

[billscottni]

Hi Fred.
You say we actually wrote it.

Who is we ?

Adrian.

I believe it was Fred & Ralph in the main with a we bit of input from others.

[Fred]

Correct, but ultimately, it does not really matter

Pass the test(s)! Should be taken as a refresher, more than a real challenge.

I wonder if the NI guys can pass it? Don't know the rules about that

[billscottni]

we can do the BMFA equivalents Fred. Wouldn't be any harm in us doing them and ISR recording that we did in case of any insurance claims!

[EI1638]

Folks,

Please forgive my ignorance, but I don't recognise this acronym "ERP", and neither does google in the context of a transmitter.

"Power output as 100 mW ERP for any radio type and the requirement to use equipment only with a “CE” approval stamp. 5.8 Ghz Video equipment is usually limited to 25 mW ERP."

I can have a guess, but its not one I've come across before.

Chris

[johnfireball]

"Effective Radiated Power"

[EI1638]

Thanks John. Now I know.

Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power transmitted from a theoretical half-wave dipole antenna. It is differentiated from effective (or equivalent) isotropic radiated power (EIRP) mainly by use of relative antenna gain instead of absolute gain in the calculation. In the case of ERP, antenna gain is calculated as compared to the maximum directivity of a half-wave dipole antenna, whereas EIRP is calculated using antenna gain referenced to an ideal isotropic radiator, otherwise known as "absolute" gain. The term "antenna gain" is assumed to be absolute (referenced to isotropic) unless specifically stated to be relative. The gain is then multiplied by the power actually accepted by the antenna to result in the actual ERP value (or EIRP). Power losses which occur prior to the antenna, e.g., in the transmission line or from inefficiency in the generator itself are therefore not included in the calculation of ERP or EIRP.

courtesy of wikipedia...

[Happy Days]

Ha. Don't you just love jargon like that!!

The antennas we use in RC flight control are basically what are known as 'dipole' type antennas which offer zero gain. So to all intents and purposes the Effective Radiated Power is just the amount of output power produced by the transmitter.

ps. If you're interested .....There are some types of radio antenna that focus radio energy in a particular direction, like the reflector behind a torch light bulb that concentrates all the light produced by the bulb in one direction. So although the bulb may only produce (say) 1 watt of power in total, the reflector concentrates all  that light forward. So the Effective Radiated Power of the torch may be (say) 5 watts,... but only in the 'forward' direction. Clear now?.............never mind

Keith

[EI1638]

Keith,

You mean like my satellite dish or the Yagi Uda we used to watch TV with?

I just love TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms). Created by professionals, who don't know what they're talking about, to obscure that fact from everybody else.

Chris

[Happy Days]

Keith,

You mean like my satellite dish or the Yagi Uda we used to watch TV with?

That's right Chris. Indeed most people use a Yagi, or a derivative there of, for terrestrial tv reception.

Keith

[Fred]

Aawww, look at that, we did not even started the A and B certs, and we already learning lots of stuff!

Talking about acronyms, when working in IBM, there was a dictionary for them! They were must use to gain time in technical discussions

[johnfireball]

Whaaat!  Does the yagi fly well?

[Happy Days]

Depends on weather conditions John, but you can work it out with the following formula :-
 BW = Δf = fh-fl = 355-291 = 64 fl = fc - Δf/2 = 323-32 = 291 fh = fc + Δf/2 = 323+32 = 355
Where BW = Beaufort Wind speed, f = flight, h =  time in hours, and c = the probability of crashing!

A book of acronyms !!! Too scary for me

K.