Butterfly vario user?

Any Butterfly vario users out there care to share their experiences?
I'm particularly interested in whether the wind information is reliable and
whether the A/H is stable and usable? (Not too bothered about the
Navigation or Flarm functions as better solutions exist)
Dave Walsh

I have one. I have been happy with the winds and from what little I can tell they seem to be reliable. I love the A/H and it seems really accurate and real-time to current glider flight conditions but don't do loops with it! Messed mine up for the rest of the flight.

Here is a video example of what happens when you do loops with a Butterfly Vario until they get some sort of an update to fix the problem. The loop is around 5 minutes in:

http://youtu.be/_lDU42C7lFs

All told, I have enjoyed the unit and the factory has been good to support it so I am sure the loop problem will soon get fixed.

Bruno - B4

You would presumably consider the LX Nav V80 as an alternative, which appears to offer the same functionality as the Butterfly and is probably quite a bit cheaper. While I don't have that unit, I have an LX9000 with AHRS and can say that it seems to do a good job with wind and that I have several times successfully thermalled in cloud using the AHRS. If I needed a vario/A-H combo unit I would go for a V80.

On Monday, November 25, 2013 10:47:16 AM UTC-8, Pam Howarth wrote:
Any Butterfly vario users out there care to share their experiences?

I'm particularly interested in whether the wind information is reliable and

whether the A/H is stable and usable? (Not too bothered about the

Navigation or Flarm functions as better solutions exist)

Dave Walsh

I have one, the wind seems to be reliable and is truly instantaneous. Being inertially derived, it seems accurate in all directions, not just the headwind/tailwind component. This can be seen flying through thermals with a new wind vector plotted every second. My A/H has been stable and useable, but I haven't tried loops with it.

Don't discount the Flarm and Nav functions. The nav is a backup, but I often set it on a guarded airport when low while leaving the other PDA software on task. The Flarm screen is relatively useless, but the voice warnings are well worthwhile!

On Monday, November 25, 2013 1:47:16 PM UTC-5, Pam Howarth wrote:
Any Butterfly vario users out there care to share their experiences?

I'm particularly interested in whether the wind information is reliable and

whether the A/H is stable and usable? (Not too bothered about the

Navigation or Flarm functions as better solutions exist)

Dave Walsh

I have a Butterfly vario. Wind is instantaneous. Very reliable. Hardware is best in the business. It is a real eye openner to see the difference in the actual airmass behavior and the inertia of the glider. Bruno has some good videos of this behavior. A pilot can learn a lot with this vario.

On Monday, November 25, 2013 10:47:16 AM UTC-8, Pam Howarth wrote:
Any Butterfly vario users out there care to share their experiences?

I'm particularly interested in whether the wind information is reliable and

whether the A/H is stable and usable? (Not too bothered about the

Navigation or Flarm functions as better solutions exist)

Dave Walsh

Do NOT fly IMC in icing conditions with this instrument near/at/below freezing levels. The ISU takes pitot/static info for the A/H and unless you have pitot heat, the A/H will NOT be reliable. This was confirmed with the Butterfly folks and I saw it first hand. They are apparently working on a fix.

I think an iced up pitot would be the least of your worries in that kind of situation. Iced up wings and tail would be of more concern to me.

-John, Q3


On Tuesday, November 26, 2013 8:50:24 PM UTC-5, nimbus wrote:
Do NOT fly IMC in icing conditions with this instrument near/at/below freezing levels. The ISU takes pitot/static info for the A/H and unless you have pitot heat, the A/H will NOT be reliable. This was confirmed with the Butterfly folks and I saw it first hand. They are apparently working on a fix.

Gordo

"I think an iced up pitot would be the least of your worries in that kind
of situation. Iced up wings and tail would be of more concern to me."

Not sure about that, you will fly with some (maybe quite a lot) of ice on
the wing and tail but you won't survive long in IMC with no ASI and
unreliable attitude information.

On Monday, November 25, 2013 10:47:16 AM UTC-8, Pam Howarth wrote:
Any Butterfly vario users out there care to share their experiences?

I'm particularly interested in whether the wind information is reliable and

whether the A/H is stable and usable? (Not too bothered about the

Navigation or Flarm functions as better solutions exist)

Dave Walsh

Pam,

I have approximately 400 flying hours with the Butterfly Vario. I also have a Powerflarm to V7 to Ultimate Le. The Vario and the winds are similar and I think differences can be related to the update rate. I like the netto ball feature. The A/H has been stable and usable, I would not recommend using in clouds if you are not an instrument rated pilot.

Youtube of Butterfly Vario

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i0IVkHUnWU


I also sell the Butterfly products.

Richard
www.craggyaero.com

Hi Richard,
Thanks for the Butterfly Vario input; your link, below, seems to be
broken?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D1i0IVkHUnWU
Dave Walsh