On Wednesday, January 30, 2019 at 1:05:48 PM UTC-8, wrote:
On Tuesday, January 29, 2019 at 5:43:03 PM UTC-7, Richard Pfiffner wrote:
What will the rules committee will have to say now that we can see ADS-B equiped gliders and their data on PowerFlarm at 20 to 30 NM.

Richard

The RC has been aware of the capabilities of ADS-B for as long as I can recall. If you go back and read some of the RC Meeting minutes over the past 5-6 years you will find regular discussion of ADS-B capabilities along with topics like Flarm and Flarm Stealth or Competition modes. The current posture of the RC is to be very cautious about restrictions on technology - this is particularly true about FAA mandated or regulated safety equipment.

Certainly there is lots of discussion across the global soaring community about how technology may be used tactically in competition at what that might mean for the fairness and enjoyment of glider racing. Speaking personally, I'd be very wary about attempting to restrict information available to pilots - particularly when that information overlaps with what might be relevant to safety of flight.

Lastly, I'd argue (my personal view, not a formal position of the RC), that the primary tactical usefulness of position, altitude or rate of climb information is over distance and time horizons that could be taken advantage of by a competitor. For the most part that is at distances of less than 10 miles, or around the limit of Flarm today. The existence of ADS-B, therefore, makes the idea of banning Flarm or mandating Stealth mode less likely, but in and of itself doesn't confer much in the way of new useful information. Put another way, I probably don't care that much to know that you found a great thermal 30-50 miles from my position. It might make some marginal difference in knowing where the pack is going on a sketchy day, but I'm not sure I see that as a big deal or necessarily a bad thing if it reduces handouts. The bigger competitive issue globally is about mass gaggles and close-in leeching. That's only partially a technology problem. Start procedures and scoring formulae also figure prominently,

King Canute tried to order the tide not to rise. It didn't work out.

Andy Blackburn
9B
Chair, SSA Competition Rules Committee

(Opinions expressed here are my own)

Nice answer Andy.

Amusingly I did hear second-hand reports that seeing an ADS-B Out equipped glider at great distance via PowerFLARM 1090ES-in was annoying some pilots in contest situations. I have no clue why, maybe it was their display showing targets at the edge of the display and the range was unclear or was it frustration that the other aircraft was so far ahead, or just climbing better?

But hey if having ADS-B Out annoys other contest pilots it may be a great competition ploy :-) Folks with Trig transponder today that "annoying gizmo" only costs you a few hundred dollars (but please, if you do this, for overall safety do a TABS or 2020 Compliant install, not any old NMEA GPS driving the Trig transponder).