FLARM Statistics

All this talk about FLARM and other alternatives to
a transponder in the USA is just so much wasted energy.
The fact is that transponders are the established
aircraft identification system in the USA and all anti-collision
systems in the USA work off of this system. The USA
is a very different environment than flying in the
Alps. I have flown in the Alps and there you have
several hundred gliders slope soaring and flying around
cliffs, valleys, buttes, and mountains in very low
ceilings. You will be flying the face of Pic de Burre
and round a corner to have three gliders flying formation
at your altitude coming straight at you. Power traffic
is a non issue. Here in the USA it is probably more
likely to have conflict with power traffic.
Transponders are relatively affordable, use relatively
little power, fit easily in a panel, and work. For
most glider pilots in the USA who never fly above 10,000
feet and are in the country this is a fantasy situation.
But for those of us in California, the Denver area,
most of Florida, Dallas and Chicago, we share the air
with heavies and I think we should step up to the bar
and be full participants in the air traffic system.
Guy