Video on contest safety

Eliminate flarm ID for all contests. Eliminate onboard knowledge of who is who out there and then go fly. If some idiot want to stick directly to my tail all the way around, without my pre communicated consent, then I will have a nose to nose conversation with him when I get on the ground. I guarantee it won’t happen again. Problem is alot of you guys do not want anonymity on course. You all like to see who is doing what and where they are.

On Friday, April 17, 2020 at 10:50:07 AM UTC-4, wrote:
Eliminate flarm ID for all contests. Eliminate onboard knowledge of who is who out there and then go fly. If some idiot want to stick directly to my tail all the way around, without my pre communicated consent, then I will have a nose to nose conversation with him when I get on the ground. I guarantee it won’t happen again. Problem is alot of you guys do not want anonymity on course. You all like to see who is doing what and where they are.


Some of the top pilots already do essentially eliminate FLARM ID: they don't input their ID into the FLARMNet database--although that doesn't stop competitors from adding them manually at the contest the first time they share a thermal--and/or they fly in FLARM stealth mode.

For that matter, FLARM is relatively recent. Before that, leeching was all visual, the old-fashioned way, as you said: "stick directly to my tail all the way around, without my pre communicated consent." I guarantee you the top pilots don't want to be followed this way but there's not much they can do about it, short of brandishing a gun in flight or on the ground, not that anyone on this forum would do such a thing, of course.

FLARM just makes it easier for the follower. That said, anonymity on course (highly desired by some) is not at all the same as wanting "to see who is doing what and where they are." (useful for all)

ADS-B Out changes the whole game anyway.

Chip Bearden
JB