On Thursday, May 7, 2015 at 1:08:27 AM UTC-5, Mike Schumann wrote:

The question is, do you want to end up with an avionics package that doesn't see UAT ADS-B OUT equipped traffic? It's hard to predict how much of the GA or UAV fleet will go down that road, but it could be a pretty significant percentage if there is a significant price difference between UAT and 1090ES ADS-B OUT solutions.

The problem is, in order to see ALL ADS-B traffic, you HAVE to have ADS-B out. So to get reliable info, you have to have, at a minimum, about $1500 for a Skyguard UAT transceiver and and $500 for an iFly display to show the data. Or an iPhone 6+, same price.

And how many gliders are going to do that? Most racers won't - they'll stick to PF for the collision warning advantage (and leeching benefits). Out west, they will most likely go with 1090ES out to trigger jet TCAS, and PF to see other gliders.

Just getting an ADS-B receiver is fine for weather and NOTAMS, but a really flawed solution for traffic - much worse than PF, for all the reasons that have been discussed ad nauseum in this thread.


That's not to say that FLARM isn't a good solution for glider pilots that are flying in competitions. FLARM is specifically designed for collision avoidance for aircraft that are flying at close quarters. ADS-B is designed to give people a heads up so they can stay far away from any conflicting traffic before it becomes a threat. It's really unfortunate that the PowerFLARM folks only solved part of the problem rather than come up with a comprehensive solution that takes into account the UAT / 1090ES architecture of the US ADS-B system.

Mike, has it occurred to you that since the US is the only country to use UAT, there isn't a big enough market for it at present? But in Europe, the PF makes total sense, since it will display ALL ADS-B (1090ES) traffic AND gliders?

Kirk
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