Flares, the majority of us are required to carry them to meet US Coast Guard regulations, others carry them just to be on the safe side, but how many of us actually know what type of flares to carry to meet our specific needs? In a midst of a major emergency is no time to determine if the flares you purchased to meet the Coast Guard requirements will be suitable for summoning assistance. As you are well aware flares are rated according to candlepower or intensity, but more importantly they are rated according to height. The altitude a flare is capable of reaching is critical due to the curvature of the earth. In other words a hand held flare, the type most often purchased to meet the basic requirements, are useless if rescuers are 10-miles away, because it is not high enough to be seen over the curvature of the earth!
These are some basic guide lines on flares and their recommended effective distances:
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Hand held flares- Average burn time is 3-mintes, and are used for summoning assistance within a five-mile radius.
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12-guage meteors flare - Average burn time is 6-seconds, may reach an altitude of 300-feet and therefore may be seen within a 20-mile radius.
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25 mm aerial flares - May reach an altitude of 375-feet and may be see seen as far as 25-miles.
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25 mm aerial parachute - With a burn time of 29-seconds, a 17,000 candlepower, and a projection of 1000-feet these flares may be seen as much as 41-miles away.
Hopefully you will never be caught in a situation where you need to use signal flares; but to be on the safe side take a few minutes to check out your flare kit to ensure it fits your needs. Make certain that you and your crew are familiar with how to shoot the flares and that the flares are still in date. Coast Guard recommends turning in out of date flares to them. Obviously never shoot a flare unless under duress as it is a federal offense.
Check out the following link provided courtesy of Boat US if you want to see flares in action and get a full review : http://www.boatus.com/fou