Flarm in 2011 USA Contests

On Nov 18, 10:33*am, Eric Greenwell wrote:
On 11/18/2010 6:43 AM, Mike the Strike wrote:



I also have some concerns about a rental program requiring the
temporary installation of a unit. *I like stuff bolted to my panel and
I like to be fully familiar with electronics before I fly in a
demanding contest. *I am not sure that having a significant number of
pilots in a contest with a loose device Velcroed or duck-taped to the
glider and having them read the user manual in a gaggle is the best
way to proceed.

Don't worry about the device being "loose": the 3M "mushroom" tape is
fully capable of keeping the unit in place under 20 G+ forces, based on
the testing of my SPOT mounting, which uses less than 2 sq. inches of
the stuff. Note that Mountain High has supplied the stuff for over a
decade to mount their oxygen controllers of similar weight and size,
with no problems I'm aware of, including the two EDS units I've used
over 15 years now.

Come'on - reading a manual in the cockpit? I haven't used Flarm, but
since it's not required for flying the glider or for performing the
task, it'll be "turn it on and forget about it till it squawks". If it
squawks too much, the pilot will just turn if off (or mute it) and
continue like he has for years, no more safety risk than before, and
then educate himself after he's landed.

These are not primary contest devices, like the flight computer!

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarmhttp://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl
- "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation Mar/2004" Much of what you need to know tinyurl.com/yfs7tnz

I disagree. There will need to be training/study for use of a
PowerFLARM and the last thing I would want a contest pilot trying to
do is sort all this out on a contest day - Dale I believe understands
this and was planning appropriate assistance/training etc. (now moot I
guess). e.g. you better worry about the different types of warnings,
how to dismiss nuisance alerts (e.g. PCAS in a gaggle) and not others.
What the different symbols on the map screen mean. Whether to put the
device in Nearest, Contest, etc. mode. How to confirm it is working
correctly, has a GPS signal, etc. How to register on FLARMnet and load
a FLARMnet database. How to correctly set ICAO address and other
information, (especially if you also have a Mode S transponder to help
with other pilot's PowerFLARM do PCAS/Flarm deduplication) and other
information etc. Butterfly may be emphasizing the ease of use of
PowerFLARM and I expect them to do a good job making these relatively
easy to use but I get very worried when I see comments like it will be
"turn it on and forget until it squawks" type device--that thinking
could lead to dangerous situations.

I hope pilots, especially contest pilots will add PowerFLARM items to
their pre-contest/flight checklist. Over the years I've added things
like "GPS OK/acquired" and "task entered and declared (if needed)" to
my pre-flight (i.e. before your are in the cockpit) checklist.

Darryl