2008 SSA Convention Details ???

I do not see FLARM in the US as it currently exists in Europe. However, a
FLARM type unit that is ADS-B compliant, and fits into the US ATC
architecture is definitely a possibility in the not too distant future.

The FLARM / ADS-B meeting resulted in some interesting information:

1. Cost is a critical issue, not just for the glider community, but also
for the GA market. FLARM has sold over 9,000 units, primarily in Europe,
due to their attractive pricing. An ADS-B compliant transceiver will need
to be priced $1,000 to get widespread voluntary adoption in the US.

2. The collision threat in the US is different than in Europe. Europe is
much more concerned with glider - glider collisions. The FLARM guys had a
very interesting slide showing OLC traces for last year superimposed on a
map of Europe. Due to the ATC restrictions in Europe, there are very high
densities of glider operations, not only in the alps, but in much of the
airspace accessible to gliders in the rest of Europe. In the US, we have a
much bigger issue with VFR Power and IFR traffic that is intermixed with
glider operations.

3. While the aviation trade press discusses ADS-B as expensive, and far
into the future, this may be an overly pessimistic assessment. MITRE has
developed a low cost ADS-B transmitter that is the size of a pack of
cigarettes, has a parts cost of about $175, and runs for 14 hours on a set
of 4 AA batteries. They are currently working on a fully functional
transceiver that will not only transmit ADS-B position vectors, but also
receive TIS-B traffic and weather data from ground stations. This
transceiver will interface with most existing graphical devices (including
Garmin 396, 496, See-You Mobile running on a PDA, etc....) to display other
aircraft including altitude, direction, and speed. If the aircraft is
within range of an ADS-B ground station, the transceiver will not only show
other ADS-B equipped aircraft, but all Mode C and Mode S equipped traffic
that is broadcast by the FAA ground station. The MITRE transceiver should
be available by September 08 and will be available under license to any
avionics vendor who is interested in commercializing it.

4. Currently, ADS-B ground stations are deployed along the east coast from
Boston to FL, covering almost 1/3 of all VFR traffic. Within the next 2
years, additional stations will be deployed in the Gulf of Mexico, along the
West Coast and in the Midwest (see www.adsb.gov for more details). Once
ADS-B transceivers are available at reasonable cost, voluntary deployment in
these areas can be expected to be rapid.

5. Contrary to popular belief, FLARM is not capable of reliably warning of
collision hazards between gliders flying in close proximity in a gaggle.
This is a result of accuracy limits available from commercial grade GPS
chips used in FLARM devices, as well as the speed with which a collision can
occur when there is an unexpected excursion from a glider's trajectory.
This will also be a limiting factor for low cost ADS-B transceivers. Even
with WAAS compatible aviation grade GPS components, the accuracy of ADS-B or
FLARM devices will not solve the gaggle problem.

6. One of the biggest challenges to the availability of low cost, low power
ADS-B transceivers will be regulatory issues relating to GPS accuracy and
integrity, and the necessity for certification of ADS-B transmitters. The
proposed ADS-B rules currently out for comments in the FAA's NPRM are
totally focused on IFR traffic requirements in high density Class B and
Class C airspaces. Provisions will have to be made in the ADS-B rules for
VFR only ADS-B transceivers for manufacturer's to hit the magic $1K price
ceiling.

Mike Schumann


"Darryl Ramm" wrote in message
...

I wrote up a brief summary of what interested me, available he
http://www.mindensoaringclub.com

Flarm in the USA is just a matter of time, they basically announced
their intent to enter the USA market and are talking to potential
dealers, etc.

Darryl

On Feb 20, 5:54 pm, Tim wrote:
Come on now, what where some of the highlights from this year's
convention for those of us stuck at home for various reasons. With no
convention next year, there should have been a lot of "new" stuff.
Usually RAS is full of post-convention

Some information I would love to hear about would be....

How'd the Flarm/ADS-B forum go?
Extreme Performance/Sinha De-turbulator update?
Duckhawk update?
Anything else of interest?

Really, anythign will do...

EY (sitting here with Baby...)




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