On Nov 18, 12:42*pm, Eric Greenwell wrote:
On 11/18/2010 11:24 AM, Darryl Ramm wrote:

On Nov 18, 10:33 am, Eric *wrote:

Come'on - reading a manual in the cockpit? I haven't used Flarm, but
since it's not required for flying the glider or for performing the
task, it'll be "turn it on and forget about it till it squawks". If it
squawks too much, the pilot will just turn if off (or mute it) and
continue like he has for years, no more safety risk than before, and
then educate himself after he's landed.

These are not primary contest devices, like the flight computer!

I disagree. There will need to be training/study for use of a
PowerFLARM and the last thing I would want a contest pilot trying to
do is sort all this out on a contest day - Dale I believe understands
this and was planning appropriate assistance/training etc. (now moot I
guess). e.g. you better worry about the different types of warnings,
how to dismiss nuisance alerts (e.g. PCAS in a gaggle) and not others.
What the different symbols on the map screen mean. Whether to put the
device in Nearest, Contest, etc. mode. How to confirm it is working
correctly, has a GPS signal, etc. How to register on FLARMnet and load
a FLARMnet database. *How to correctly set ICAO address *and other
information, (especially if you also have a Mode S transponder to help
with other pilot's PowerFLARM do PCAS/Flarm deduplication) and other
information etc. Butterfly may be emphasizing the ease of use of
PowerFLARM and I expect them to do a good job making these relatively
easy to use but I get very worried when I see comments like it will be
"turn it on and forget until it squawks" type device--that thinking
could lead to dangerous situations.

I hope pilots, especially contest pilots will add PowerFLARM items to
their pre-contest/flight checklist. Over the years I've added things
like "GPS OK/acquired" and "task entered and declared (if needed)" to
my pre-flight (i.e. before your are in the cockpit) checklist.

Darryl

I agree completely that a pilot should learn how to use it while on the
ground to get full use out of the unit, but my impression is somebody
can be handed one, given a 5 minute basic introduction, then go flying.
He'll know enough to turn the unit on/off, to mute it, and to be to know
where to look when the unit signals a conflict with another glider.
That's just for the first flight. He'll know more before the next
flight, and so on.

I just don't see any reason to think pilots will be so involved in the
unit, they will be less safe during the course of the first few flights
than without it, and I still think it's nonsense to talk about "reading
the manual" in flight. It's not a flight computer! You are not trying to
navigate with it, not trying optimize your turn within a turnpoint area,
not trying to locate and center lift, not distracting yourself by
talking on the radio. It just sits there, like my MRX pcas unit, until
there is a potential problem. I'm just parroting what the guys that use
them tell us. Why not believe them?

All the other stuff - Flarmnet, database, ADS-B, ICAO address - is that
necessary for it to provide it's primary function in a contest, which is
to warn pilots of potential conflicts with other gliders?

A proper configured ICAO address (if you also have a Mode S
transponder) helps other PowerFLARM users not see you as PCAS nuisance
alert so is useful for the primary reason of having a useful (low
false alarm rate) traffic collision avoidance tool.

If you have a magic way of making sure that pilots will not look at
the traffic display to see other glider climb rates etc. then great,
we can ignore everything else and just focus on the Flarm "primary
use". I however think there is likely to be some interest in the other
PowerFLARM capabilities. So in addition to the simple easy to
understand traffic warnigns I am concerned about pilots potentially
being more heads down at times looking at the Flarm traffic map to see
what other gliders are doing. I don't think it is a good idea for
anybody to be trying to sort out what the symbols etc. mean, how to
change the range, etc. for the first time while in flight. All those
things should be understood before the flight.

I don't think we are disagreeing too much. This stuff is not complex,
it should take a brief simple explanation/demo and maybe a bit of hand
holding on first setup - but I think positioning PowerFLARM as just
plug and go has the danger of increasing people's frustration with the
new technology, and possibly decreasing saftey from what it could be.

Darryl

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)