Dreaming of a BETTER PowerFLARM antenna

On Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at 2:58:07 PM UTC-6, ND wrote:
On Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at 3:31:24 PM UTC-5, kirk.stant wrote:
On Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at 1:41:37 PM UTC-6, ND wrote:

either way, for the foreseeable future i am a see-and-avoid kinda guy.. That's right! Ice... man. I am dangerous.

Yes you are.

Well, good luck and I hope the Big Sky Theory works for you - because "see-and-avoid" has been 100% proven to not always work.

And from personal experience, a mid-air can really ruin your day!

But hey, at least your cockpit is Gucci!

Cheers,

Kirk
66

kirk, i was joking last time when i quoted top gun--you missed my attempt at humor. let's both pump the brakes on this one. i knew i shouldn't have expressed my opinions about the aesthetics of the antenna because it would illicit some such response. the reality is that MOST gliders in the US are still flying without flarm, and that like see-and-avoid, flarm is also not 100% effective. i don't disagree with the pro flarm camp. i hate the ugly antenna installs i see, that's it. let's meet halfway on this one, and enjoy a beer together should our paths ever meet. (ok...no pun intended, but that last sentence is comedic gold)

-ND

Dude, if you are OK with trusting see-and-avoid, then go for it - it's just that your choosing aethetics over utility in what is potentially a live-saving area seems a bit narcissistic, that's all.

I totally got the Top Gun reference - I was actively flying F-4s when TG came out and remember doing the "Need for Speed" thing on the Nellis ramp during a Red Flag back then. And my background may be why I will always take utility over beauty when it comes to safety - and trust me, Flarm is WAY better than your eyes will ever be!

The fact that the US is a third-world backwater with regards to flarm adoption (see France, Germany, Britain, even Australia) says more about the US glider pilot mentality (Schweizers, anyone?) than about the merits of flarm.

Anyway - anytime you pass by St Louis on I-70 stop by St Louis Soaring at H07 (30 miles east of the Mississippi) and I'll buy you a Stag.

Cheers!

Kirk
66