"Until that technology is available" is the key issue. Unfortunately, the
glider, balloon, and Ultra Lite community is pretty small an unlikely to get
a commercial company interested in developing a good solution that is cost
effective. This is the type of thing that the SSA should be working on. On
approach would be to partner with some professors at MIT to make this an
open source class project.

Mike Schumann

"hans" wrote in message
...
But until that technology is available I happy fly with my FLARM equipped
gilder. But the cost of the FLARM is less than the cost of installation of
the Mode S transponder.

And yes, I have a Mode-S transponder in my glider, so that I'm visible to
the TCAS equipped guys.





Mike Schumann schrieb:
We don't need FLARM. What we need is a low cost version of ADS-B that is
affordable for glider pilots. FLARM only addresses other gliders that
are similarly equiped. We need to be visible and have visibility of not
just gliders, but also power traffic.

Mike Schumann

"Paul Remde" wrote in message
news:uq4Ui.171151$Fc.69305@attbi_s21...
Hi,

FLARM has become extremely popular in several regions of the world
(Europe, and Australia, and ...?), but it has not been "allowed" in the
USA so far. However, there are several gliders flying with FLARM here in
the USA. It is a great technology solution and safety enhancer. But
technical and liability hurdles exist here in the USA. Everyone that
I've talked to that uses FLARM in their glider loves it - especially in
contests or at crowded soaring sites, or along crowded ridges.

I would like to invite you to an informal brainstorming session on "How
we can make FLARM (or something similar) work here in the USA". The
meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 13th, 2008, from 4 to 5 PM
in a small conference room in the convention center that is hosting the
SSA Convention. Details on the meeting location will be available in the
future.

This is not a marketing discussion and I will not be promoting any
products. The goal is to gather technical people together to figure out
how we can use FLARM in the USA.

Topics may include:
- FLARM Europe and FLARM Australia (OzFLARM) use different frequencies
(I think) - will either work here? If so, which one should we use?
- The FCC may (or may not) need to be contacted to figure out what
frequency to use. Or do we want to just start using it without
permission and remain "under the radar". (I prefer that it be approved
by the FCC and FLARM.)
- FLARM in Europe doesn't seem to want to allow its use here. What can
we do to change their mind? Can it be licensed and built here in the
USA as it is in Australia?
- Can we create or use a different technology that would also work for
small aircraft?
- How do the FAA's plans to implement ADSB impact this discussion? In
the short run that looks like an extremely expensive solution for the
aircraft owner.

Since I could potentially benefit from the sale of FLARM devices, I
would prefer not to run the meeting. Does anyone else want to volunteer
to run it - or co-run it? Eric Greenwell and/or Tom Serkowski come to
mind as technology minded glider pilots that may be good for the job.

I am looking forward to the meeting already. I hope you will join us.
There is no need to RSVP. My guess is that the room will be very full.

Good Soaring,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.





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