Is FLARM helpful?

On Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at 6:57:03 PM UTC-5, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
Dear XC:

With all due respect life is more worthwhile than what YOU deem "the spirit of the sport" while flying a glider costing over $100,000 made of the the most advanced composite materials and utilizing the most advance low speed aerodynamics on the planet. Your glider or those also in "the spirit of the sport" have flight computers that can keep track of arrival hight and l/d to arrive for all airports, those computers tell you how fast to fly between thermals, will tell you the time to complete a task given the McCready setting, will tell you where airspace is both in the vertical and horizontal plane. These computers will warn you if your airbrakes or open, if you forget to lower your landing gear, they will show you photos of the airport you have selected they can tell you your height both in AGL and MSL... Some of these gliders that by your argument still have the correct "spirit of the sport" have engines, some have jet engines, other can launch themselves, this is still in the spirit of the sport but anti-collision not muted to 2 km takes away the spirit? Your "spirit of the sport" idea is seriously warped and does not stand to simple logic. Advanced computers fine, advanced aerodynamics fine, engines fine, seeing all the traffic that can kill you bad.

Maybe the 1-26 association and the vintage glider association would better provide the spirit you want to preserve.

On Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at 2:22:52 PM UTC-8, XC wrote:
On Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at 4:34:12 PM UTC-5, John Cochrane wrote:
Technology can be defined as the application of human ability to affect change to answer a determined human need. That need may well be to preserve what is deemed worthwhile. There are many cases of technology being used in this preservation way.

The stealth mode feature of FLARM is such an application of human ability or technology - moving ahead with collision avoidance enhancement but preserving the spirit of the sport.

XC

Okay, my take on spirit of the sport is different than yours. Please take a moment to tell us what your take is? What are we comparing when we race? What qualities in a glider pilot are worthy of peer recognition?
XC