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Is FLARM helpful?



 
 
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  #11  
Old November 23rd 15, 12:10 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
waremark
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Default Is FLARM helpful?

I had a midair on conflicting thermal entry 12 years ago. We had been quite close for several minutes but the other guy did not know I was close to him. If we had both had Flarm then the crash would almost certainly not have happened. (Of course there should have been other ways to avoid it!)
  #12  
Old November 23rd 15, 12:59 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Jonathan St. Cloud
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Default Is FLARM helpful?

Wondering if there are any statistics regarding Flarm use in the the U.S.? i know at the glider port I fly from most have Flarm, but I see many gliders for sale on Wings and Wheels do not have Flarm.
  #13  
Old November 23rd 15, 03:50 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
[email protected]
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Default Is FLARM helpful?

I have had a PowerFlarm Core for a year now and found it to be very helpful alerting me to gliders and other traffic. As others have already said, this alone justifies having one in your glider.

Another major benefit of having Flarm when flying with others with Flarm is that it really cuts down on the need for radio chatter as everyone can see where everyone is and how they are doing. Location and rate of climb/sink is displayed.

  #14  
Old November 23rd 15, 03:38 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
[email protected]
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Default Is FLARM helpful?

On Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 1:35:10 AM UTC, Casey Cox wrote:
Has anyone been thankful that they have had FLARM?

And do the same people have a transponder?

How many people fly with FLARM or Transponder?

Let's hear about the close calls, or potential close calls, or even the peace of mind of awareness.


It's a no brainer - why would you not want to be alerted to aircraft that you have not seen with your own eyes !

I've flown many competitions with multiple classes where the vast majority of gliders ( 1 or 2 exceptions ) have Flarm, it becomes disconcerting how many gliders I visually "miss" ... and I don't think my lookout is particularly bad.

I would make it compulsory for all Gliders and tugs in competitions.

I truely think the risk associated with another distracting instrument in the cockpit is far, far outweighed by the situational awareness it provides.
  #15  
Old November 23rd 15, 11:00 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Andy Blackburn[_3_]
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Default Is FLARM helpful?

On Sunday, November 22, 2015 at 3:59:15 PM UTC-8, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
Wondering if there are any statistics regarding Flarm use in the the U.S.? i know at the glider port I fly from most have Flarm, but I see many gliders for sale on Wings and Wheels do not have Flarm.


You have to select the appropriate denominator when you look at "use". If you look as a percent of all FAA-registered gliders it will be pretty low - but lots of gliders on the registry are inoperative or even destroyed. If you assume a few thousand regularly flying gliders then the penetration is probably less than 30%. However, if you look at the most active gliders that represent most of the flight hours (and therefore collision threat) there are two broad groups - training and ride gliders and cross-country and racing gliders.

There have been a number of clubs and commercial operators (e.g. Soaring Club of Houston and Williams Soaring) that have equipped their entire fleets, but generally you'll see less here because of cost, lack of battery power and other reasons. They tend to spend a lot of time around the airport and in the pattern. The cross country and racing set have higher penetration - virtually all the high-hours OLC pilots on the west coast (due in part to extensive convergence and street flying at high altitudes and airspeeds) have adopted Flarm. Among racing pilots responding to this fall's poll 77% overall and 94% of pilots who flew in a Nationals have Flarm.

I'd wager that some of the gliders you are seeing for sale have not flown a lot and are being sold for that reason. I wouldn't take it as totally representative of the proportion of Flarm-equipped gliders you are likely to observe when you go flying, which is more based on hours in the air.

If you are just doing patterns and flying locally, collision avoidance will tend to be more "old-school" see-and-avoid, but it varies a lot with the local operation. If you intend to go cross country or fly in a contest it'll be a very different story. It's increasingly frowned upon to show up at a contest or OLC camp without one and some are now Flarm mandatory.

9B
  #16  
Old November 23rd 15, 11:31 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Casey Cox
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Default Is FLARM helpful?

Ok. How long has Flarm been readily available/used, and is there anything starting to take its place that would make Flarm obsolete or not purchased as much in a couple of years?
  #17  
Old November 24th 15, 12:09 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Richard[_9_]
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Default Is FLARM helpful?

On Monday, November 23, 2015 at 2:31:46 PM UTC-8, Casey Cox wrote:
Ok. How long has Flarm been readily available/used, and is there anything starting to take its place that would make Flarm obsolete or not purchased as much in a couple of years?


I think I sold my first PowerFlarm in Spring 2011. I don't see anything in development to replace it or provide the collision avoidance features.

http://www.craggyaero.com/powerflarm.htm



Richard
www.craggyaero.com
  #18  
Old November 24th 15, 04:55 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Andy Blackburn[_3_]
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Default Is FLARM helpful?

On Monday, November 23, 2015 at 2:31:46 PM UTC-8, Casey Cox wrote:
Ok. How long has Flarm been readily available/used, and is there anything starting to take its place that would make Flarm obsolete or not purchased as much in a couple of years?


Here - read this. Should give you everything you need to know.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...HJMU2ZyVy16QzQ

9B
  #19  
Old November 24th 15, 05:39 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Sean Fidler
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Default Is FLARM helpful?

On Friday, November 20, 2015 at 8:35:10 PM UTC-5, Casey Cox wrote:
Has anyone been thankful that they have had FLARM?

And do the same people have a transponder?

How many people fly with FLARM or Transponder?

Let's hear about the close calls, or potential close calls, or even the peace of mind of awareness.


FWIW, I have had at least 2 very close calls in which I would have been very, very close to a collision without FLARM. Equally important, I have had numerous FLARM warnings in which I was not aware of the glider nearby until the warning. These warnings (quite common) are invaluable and their situation awareess safety value is incalcuable.

The first close call was actually during the very first week that the flarm was released in the USA during the 2011 Uvulde glide. Two open class gliders flew right across my nose (45 degrees off head on). Less than 50 meters at the exact altitude. I saw the first at the last second (no flarm). I never would have seen the second glider (in trail of the first) without the flarm warning. Terrifying but I was able to get a visual on the second and dive below. We would have hit nose to nose without the dive. The collision was maybe 5 seocnds away. I was shaking for the next hour. Im not sure if they ever saw me.

From that moment on, I felt failry exposed flying without FLARM...and feel that gliders flying contrsts or busy enviornments without FLARM are failry dangerous. The other close call would have almost certainly been a head on collision in a pre-start situation. I am a "scan freak" and am always moving my head and my eyes, and try not to rely on FLARM at all as there are always at least a few non-flarm gliders in any group. Regardless of that flaw, FLARM warnings are almost always useful and highly acurate.

A good example of a FLARM warning is at the 9:10 point of this video: https://vimeo.com/52396659

So the short answer is yes, I am thankful of Flarm and thankful to the fellow pilots (and towpilots) who have invested in it.

7T



  #20  
Old November 24th 15, 09:37 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
bertvaneyken
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Default Is FLARM helpful?

Even for gliders in the local pattern you should certainly consider buying a FLARM.
In our club we decided to install it in every aircraft, even the paraclub decided to install devices in their drop planes.

We had serveral very very close calls:
- The Cessna Grand caravan in short final aborted the approach because of the flarm beeping like crazy.
Our twin was just below in front of him in his blind spot. Luckily he didn't wait a blink of an eye longer.
- A tow pilot with glider on the rope not seeing another glider in the pattern, the instructor too busy with the student.
Only the flarm alerted them to make evasive manoevres.
- And a few others...

Flarm certainly saved our asses several times


Bert
 




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