GliderLink - New team soaring app for airborne location sharing

Whether this solution compares to FLARM technology or not - I think overall it's a very innovative idea that has a lot of potential in it. As Ben mentioned, a ground base station can broadcast information from the ground, gliders can share the location and strength of thermals among themselves, all at the cost of a $100 gadget. I cannot say that I have ever had the chance to fully exploit what PowerFLARM gives, but knowing that others are in the air nearby is already a great safety feature, especially given that the cost of this gadget is a fraction of the cost of a new PowerFLARM portable. Though credit goes to Flarm for collision course detection, but I'm not sure that this single feature justifies the huge price difference ($100 vs $2000). I hope this app will have many more features and the solution will be used widely among glider pilots.

On Saturday, April 28, 2018 at 6:04:45 PM UTC-5, Marton K-Sz wrote:
Whether this solution compares to FLARM technology or not - I think overall it's a very innovative idea that has a lot of potential in it. As Ben mentioned, a ground base station can broadcast information from the ground, gliders can share the location and strength of thermals among themselves, all at the cost of a $100 gadget. I cannot say that I have ever had the chance to fully exploit what PowerFLARM gives, but knowing that others are in the air nearby is already a great safety feature, especially given that the cost of this gadget is a fraction of the cost of a new PowerFLARM portable. Though credit goes to Flarm for collision course detection, but I'm not sure that this single feature justifies the huge price difference ($100 vs $2000). I hope this app will have many more features and the solution will be used widely among glider pilots.

Actually, the amount I was charged for a pair of the goTenna devices, after putting 'BENDER25' in the discount field, was $134.25 - which made it $$67..13 per piece. I found the suggestion here (bottom of the page - 25% discount):

http://travelwithbender.com/product-...na-mesh-review

Another application for this, is automatic logging for clubs. Just sit down and pick your name (and instructors name) from a list in the app, and a ground station gets your take off, and two height, and landing. In our club that would eliminate a duty person. Is the code open source, up on line some where? Would be a great enhancement.

Rick

I've published a FAQ on the GliderLink site: https://glider.link/faq

On Monday, April 30, 2018 at 12:32:49 AM UTC-5, Ben Hirashima wrote:
I've published a FAQ on the GliderLink site: https://glider.link/faq

Thanks, great job. Answers most basic questions potential users may have.
Another suggestion: how about adding the distance from your glider next to the other gliders' icons/information? I actually thought initially that the '5KM' in your example pictures was the distance.

Thanks Tom. That reminds me of another thing I should put in the FAQ: You can tap on a glider to get more information, like distance, ground speed, and exact altitude. I didn't put distance on the screen all the time because it's not essential information and it keeps screen clutter down.