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1. 11:09 AM - Vision (George Frost)
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Below is a copy of a letter I just sent to the AOPA ASF.
Hi,
I am a retired Industrial Designer and a 50 year pilot. I have an RV-6
that I built and flown for 4 years. I am currently installing a backup
camera, purchased from the local auto parts store in the bottom of my
wing. Several years ago there was a fatal (4) mid-air over the nearby
ACO VOR involving a low wing, northbound, descending, Lancair and a
west bound, high wing, 172 with an instructor and student starting a
practice instrument approach into AKR or CAK. This VOR is the initial
approach fix for 5 separate airports. It is a very likely place to
encounter conflicting traffic. There have been mid-airs and near mid-
airs involving high and low wing aircraft that could not see each
other in and near traffic patterns. I believe the Hudson River low
wing, fixed wing aircraft, and helicopter also had similar
circumstances. When reasonable, automobile back up cameras showed up
in auto parts stores I decided that this was something I could use to
avoid high wing aircraft below, particularly in the pattern. My RV-6
is a little faster than most of the traffic I encounter in the
pattern, therefore I have aimed it slightly forward. Now what I have
to do is learn to monitor the view below me often.
This installation was not very difficult in the RV-6 as I was able to
mount the camera in the bell crank/aileron inspection plate and run
the antenna wiring out to the wing tip and power it from the nav light
wiring. Very little of the camera is exposed below the wing so drag
should not be a problem.
Several people that I have mentioned this to, have responded
favorably and said that I should spread this idea around as they
believe, as I do, that this could increase pattern safety. I am
sharing this info with you as the first place to start. I will send
you a report of It's effectiveness when I start flying with it.
George
#00503173
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