I currently have mode S displayed on my 430 and there have been several incidents that without it (on hazy VFR nights) I would have been yesterday's toast.  If you can afford an airplane then you can afford mode S.  It gives protection in the most congested areas but it has significant limitations.  It also has an advantage of predicting flight path of the intruders (the slow response time demands it).  My new ES-P will have mode S displayed on the GNS 480 and Ryan 9900BX on the Chelton display.  And I may occasionally look out the windows.  Sometimes a slow response isn't fast enough.  And sometimes the Big Sky just ain't big enough. 


Robert M. Simon,  ES-P N301ES,  GlaStar N161GS

Note:  The Ryan folks suggest installing the antenna on a Lancair as far foreword as possible.  We're more likely to run into traffic than have traffic catch us!  ;-) 


colyncase on earthlink wrote:

Bryan wrote:

  Sounds like a good argument to go with XM Weather (WxWorx) and "S" mode  transponders for traffic

<> In my experience, mode S should be the greatest sales tool for active TCAD, 

for two reasons:

1) when you see how much traffic there really is you understand you really want traffic avoidance.

2) when you see how flaky mode S coverage is you'll want something that always works.