When I installed Power Flarm (PF) in 2013, I had no idea whether it would ever 'save my butt'. Not many people have it in my area.

Last October I was flying by myself on a weekday in the Sugarbush Wave, at 8000 climbing, and squawking 1202 (on a TT21 that came with the glider). I gave Burlington Approach a position report 20 minutes prior. I'm monitoring Approach freq and 123.3, gently orbiting a point to figure out the 'sweet spot' of the wave, and doing a continuous 360 scan for traffic. Wind aloft is 30 knots. Gentle wave.

The sky is crystal clear blue. Zero clouds. Peak foliage. Adirondack mountains visible on the far side of a deep blue Lake Champlain. More peaks visible in every direction. Weather is warm and dry. I'm feeling lucky.

I overhear Approach advise a Cirrus of my position. 'Step up' my scan... no traffic. Relax, keep looking. The ADS-B Flarm alarm goes off. Adrenaline jolt. Scan harder... Closing traffic 11 o'clock. Nose down, steep right 90.... Quick glance at the bottom of a shiny new Cirrus. Oh my...

Cirrus pilot to Approach: 'um... we just missed that glider'.

I get about one PF Alert a year. This was the first time that I saw the traffic. When alerts are rare, they provoke a 100% response. I have zero 'Cry Wolf' complacency from alert_fatigue. So for this reason, I think PF is very effective in low traffic areas. It only takes ONE significant alert to justify the costs.