PowerFlarm at Region 9 Contest

I like the way you assume my understanding, John, and my financial position.

I've stated over and over that I don't fly in contests and I don't care
about contest flying. I only care about the bandying about of such terms as
compulsory and mandatory. Those of us who truly care about our freedoms
understand that if we give an inch, those who want to impose their wills
will take the proverbial mile. I won't give that inch. I'll make my own
decisions.

Yes, by all means try to mandate Flarm on the Applichian ridge to prevent
midairs between gliders. Oh, how many have there been there so far?


wrote in message
...
On Monday, June 10, 2013 11:21:33 PM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
Yes, but you can't get out of the way of an airliner - you're a stationary

target at his speed. And, if you have a Flarm only and not a transponder,

the airliner won't see you.

In fact, powerflarm gives lots of warning about airliners. They have mode S,
ADSB transponders, so you see exact position and altitude from many miles
away.

Just last weekend I was looking at my clearnav display, wondering how I was
picking up that glider 10+ miles away, then noticed it was above cloudbase
and descending 20 knots. Oh, yeah. Hmm, better alter course a bit to the
right.

That's not an argument against transponders. I fly with both flarm and
transponder. Flarm gives glider to glider collision warnings, especially in
contests and densely flown glider areas. Flarm lets you see adsb-equipped
aircraft, with enough warning to get out of the way of anything flying
subsonic.

Transponders lets the FAA and airliners avoid me. That's very important
where I fly since Midway approach seems to love to blast airliners through
20 miles of congested class E airspace right over our club at 4000'. Choose
which risk you face most, and cost/benefit.

Contests are verging to large scale voluntary flarm adoption. It's not clear
to me that Dan understands this thread is mainly talking about contests. For
most contests, flown away from lots of heavy traffic, one can make a case
that a transponder is less cost effective, and flarm much more important.

I would imagine that other densely flown glider areas would want to start
thinking about heavy flarm adoption too, say up and down the white mountains
or the pennsylvania ridges. Operations with lots of glider traffic, so that
midairs among pilots based out of the same airport are the prime threat,
might consider flarm as well.

If you fly all by yourself in heavy power traffic areas, and you're cheap,
then one can make a case for transponder and no flarm. Still, you don't see
the other traffic.

John Cochrane