PowerFLARM leeching comments

At 15:23 01 November 2012, Mike the Strike wrote:
I have had most conflicts when flying under cloud streets,
including one
in=
cident a couple of years ago where I nearly collided head-
on with a
colleag=
ue at very high closing speeds. My concern with
PowerFlarm and its cheesy
=
antennas is that the range may not be sufficient to
adequately warn me in
=
this scenario. The more information the unit can provide
the better -
that=
is why I oppose use of the"stealth" mode.

Mike


Mike,

This link to an illustration of glider sizes versus time to
impact and speeds might offer reassurance about
sufficiency of warning in the head on case - assuming that
the PF range collision alert range is at least as good as the
less powerful Swiss Flarm version.

For example, with both gliders doing 108 knots towards
each other on a collision course, the first PF alert would be
at around 2km separation and at that distance a 15m
wingspan will subtend an angle smaller than a screw head
on the instrument panel.

http://www.flarm.com/files/glider_shapes_en.pdf

John Galloway