Originally Posted by Bob

On Sep 11, 3:46*pm, Walt Connelly Walt.Connelly.
wrote:
For Flarm to be effective, the other guy has to have Flarm installed
too?

"FLARM (the name being inspired from 'flight alarm') obtains its
position from an internal GPS and a barometric sensor and then
broadcasts this with forecast data about the future 3d flight track. Its
receiver listens for other FLARM devices within typically 3-5 kilometres
and processes the information received."

From the above I deduce that Flarm only works if the other guy has Flarm
too.

I fly a rental 1-34 and Grob 103 with no radio, no audio vario and in an
environment in which at times one can find several gliders in close
proximity. *I bought a portable Icom A24 radio (recommended) which is
only good when the other guy has a radio and either listens to my
reports or makes his own. *I bought a wrist mounted audio vario so I
could listen for lift as opposed to flying with my head in the cockpit
(and up my a--) looking for a hopeful move from the vario needle. * I
bought a parachute when I found myself thermaling with others in close
proximity, some of whom did not appear to be lookin' where they were
goin'. *

I doubt if the rental ships are going to find themselves Flarm equipped
and It would appear that these are hard wired, hard installed types of
devices. *Portables don't appear to be part of the senario. *Gee, maybe
we need battery powered strobes on the top of the rudder to improve our
visibility.

Walt

--
Walt Connelly

Steve Koerner is VERY correct. There will be LOTS of PowerFlarms in
the US as soon as the mfgr. gets the bugs worked out and sends the
units to the 600+ US glider pilots that have them on order. Virtually
every glider pilot in Arizona will have one, and most private and
commercial aircraft have transponders, which are also detected by
PowerFlarm, so the sky should be far safer for gliders shortly. Much
like the Prez of the US, who admonished Americans to contact their
representatives about their feelings about how things were progressing
(or not) in DC (which seems to have worked), you should pressure any
folks, companies, organizations who rent gliders to get with the
movement and get them installed in all their aircraft.

Bob T.
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