midair in Bay Area Nov 7

Guy Acheson wrote on 11/16/2020 7:19 PM:
OK...I am ready to get flamed.
I have flown with a PowerFlarm for several years.
False alarms. Searching frantically for aircraft that I just never see or do not exist.
Flying with a group, all with Flarm, and several do not show on my screen because they have carbon fuselages and antennas that are blocked.
Flying head to head with another Flarm aircraft and no display.
Having other pilots inform me that they saw my plane on their screens when I was not flying...multiple times!
The programing and configuration issues are just too much.
My system is updated and confirmed with and by experts.
But, most are not.
For me, it has not been a dependable, reliable, predictable piece of equipment.
My experiences in France have been much better.
My understanding is that those systems are overseen/verified/inspected by aircraft mechanics.
Here in the USA...the Flarm system mostly increases my anxiety and complicates my flying day.

It is unfortunate that your experience with Flarm is so poor. I have flown with Flarm for many
years and ...

-essentially no false alarms: there is always a glider there when I have an alarm.
-when flying in a "group" (which I think means gliders less than a mile away, going the same
direction and thermalling together) all the gliders always show on my Flarm. Most of them are
carbon gliders.
-Head to Head: the other glider always shows (my antennas are in the nose, so forward is the best)
-I programed it once and used it that way for years, still do
-I update it once a year, it's easy (I do have read the instructions each time)

I have no explanation for why our experiences are so different, but I think your experience is
extreme. Perhaps your installation is much of the problem, and it should be reviewed by a
different expert, even a pilot with experience using several systems.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1