The general
impression I got was that they worked very well.
In no way can they be
regarded as a substitute for a good lookout, and this point was made very
clear at the briefings.
I personally never
had an alarm whilst thermalling, although I understand some pilots
did.
I had 2 alarms during
the course of the contest: in both cases I had not seen the approaching glider
first:
our paths were not
collision courses and avoiding action was not required. I was, however,
pleased that the presence of the other glider was drawn to my attention before
I had noticed it. This alone convinced me of the value of the
FLARM.
Quite frankly I
rarely looked at it, so I found it definitely NOT to be a distraction in the
cockpit.
There are some minor
issues regarding the design: the unit needs a glare shield, and perhaps a
different display, as the threats are displayed on red or green LED’s, and
thus present problems to colour blind pilots. I believe there are also some
minor problems to be sorted out with the software
All in all, I believe
that the trial was very successful
