View Single Post
  #46  
Old April 9th 15, 12:05 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Andrzej Kobus
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 585
Default Ads-b and sailplanes

Here is a good one. I bet sooner or later FAA will give up and allow the lower cost units.

http://www.flyingmag.com/avionics-ge...-its-true-sort

My next glider coming out of factory will have Trig T22 with FreeFlight 1201 installed (experimental) as well as ADSB-in (both bands).

I have PowerFlarm in my current glider and I am not certain I want one again due to huge number of nuisance alarms coming from my own Trig T22 transponder. I might give it a try again, but ... if it behaves the same way as the current unit it will be out of my glider faster than it came in. I did contact support without any resolution. In fact I had my PowerFlarm unit in two gliders both equipped with Mod S transponders and I had tons of nuisance alarms in both gliders. Transponder output was tested and PowerFlram antennas were mounted properly.

I also hear from folks in Europe about ADS-B out and PowerFlarm installed in the same aircraft not working properly.

I admit at some point in the past I wanted PowerFlarm to be mandatory for contests. I am not sure about that anymore.

Yes, in contest environment I benefited from PowerFlarm, but I also acknowledge there were many false positives in thermals that caused me to interrupt my scanning procedure to check on potentially conflicting traffic.
I remember busy thermals when the thing would not shut up at all. I have been using PowerFlarm since it showed up in the US.

Sometimes a simple thing like a strobe light on a glider can be very effective in making a glider visible.

At the end it is only important to know there are people around me before they get to close after that is your head on you neck that matters. If everyone had a UAT for $699 it would work for us too. I just need to know there is someone coming. Then add a transponder for the heavy machines and you are all set.

I really don't care for PowerFlarm algorithm speed as speed only matters when the traffic is very close. At that point I should have it already visible. You don't want to react when you have a second. You want to know the traffic is coming and react much earlier. You should never need the fast reaction time.

I don't think ADS-B vs. PowerFlarm is such a clear cut. I bet sales of Flarm units in Europe will fall as a result of easy ADS-B out and $200 ADS-B in hardware available.