Re: [Aus-soaring] Queensland Easter Competition and FLARM

[Mike Borgelt]

At 02:28 PM 28/03/06, you wrote:
Graeme & Joy Rickert wrote:
Wide range of mostly interesting comments on this subject, plus of 
course the usual few offensive statements.

From someone who has not used FLARM but has been a tuggie at comps, I can
see virtue in total FLARM fitment.  There have been occasions when, 
despite my best efforts at lookout, the limitations of view from 
the Pawnee have placed me a little closer than I had expected to 
other aircraft.  I have only had two "near misses" requiring 
serious avoidance action but that is more than enough.  FLARM may 
have given me a better and earlier indication of those potential conflicts.

On the other hand, a possible weakness with FLARM is that the pilot 
may be seduced into looking in the direction indicated by the 
system to identify the particular aircraft and may temporarily 
reduce overall scanning for other aircraft either without FLARM or 
with a fitted system that had failed.
FLARM needs to be integrated into your lookout scan. The way I do 
this is as follows:-

  1. FLARM is mounted on the top RHS of my instrument panel, with a
     sunshade over it to keep it from overheating in the hot Aussie sun
     and to provide a shade for the LEDs to increase their contrast in
     bright sunshine.
  2. When I do my straight ahead (cruise and instruments) part of the
     scan, FLARM infor is taken in. During the rest of the scan, I look
     for the traffic that FLARM has alerted me to.
  3. If the FLARM alarm sounds, I look where it tells me to look - at
     that point I am a max of 18 seconds from a potential collision and
     that direction DESERVES my immediate attention! Once that is
     sorted out, it's back to whatever scan I should be doing.


Robert,

I hope you meant that you also look for the non FLARM targets ie. 
Cessnas, hang gliders, ultralights, eagles. The last will probably 
never buy FLARM units.

Maybe you should be looking around first then checking what you saw 
against the FLARM display? I think this is what Graeme Rickert was 
talking about. You will tend to find what you know about and miss the 
rest. Voice readouts don't help this at all.

I have talked with one competition pilot who claims he never looks at 
the FLARM situation display but waits for the alarm to sound. He has 
lots more faith in electronics and software than I do.

Also on the FLARM forum:

Peter
Guest

<http://www.flarm.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=161#161>
Post
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 4:47 pm    Post subject: Flarm shows wrong 
direction when circling in thermal 
<http://www.flarm.com/forum/posting.php?mode=quote&p=161>
Reply with quote


----------
When circling in a thermal with other gliders an alarm shows the 
position of the anticipated collision, not the current direction of 
the threat. Example: the next glider is behind me (low) to my left 
but the alarm shows (low) right. I then start looking for a threat 
behind at right and reduce observation to the left...
----------------------

Is this true? If so, does this also happen in cruising flight? Users 
really need to know how the logic of this works.

Mike

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