FLARM and Triathlon

On Monday, 28 December 2015 09:17:18 UTC-7, smfidler wrote:
Jfitch,

I competely agree.

AHRS - I argued until I was blue in the face that the safety value of AHRS greatly outweighed the "cheating" concerns. I was personally insulted and attached for arguing that point. I'll never forget that. The RC went crazy, banning smart phones, requiring contest legal software versions, etc.

Same for SMART PHONES in general. For several years they were illegal toga be in the glider at a contest! You were ACTUALLY EXPECTED to go to Walmart and buy a disposable dumb phone. Amazingly, that ridiculous rule has now been reversed. Sigh. Weather panic, etc.

Same for US TASKING. 97% timed tasks in the USA in 2014 and growing. Literally 3% assigned tasks but even they are molested by the US rule modification that allows extra distance (and therefore not a race, and also increasing the risk of collision greatly) to be added on at the pilots discretion.. This encourages the gaggle to reform again and again and again. Furthermore, the long MAT (timed task (not a race) is now preferred by CDs (I have no idea why) and encouraged as more flexible, easier task. These US only timed, watered down difficulty yet technically complex tasks are also a total departure from the rest of the world. Ongoing debate...

Now POWERFlarm is the new evil (without a shred of objective proof). The new high end US POWERFlarm is, with the US RCs new stealth/competition mode mandates, losing 90% of its advertised capability (and all of the justification for the very high price). In principle, I understand (complexity, unfair advantages at a highly sophisticated World Championship level) but we seem to quickly forget that we are just trying to survive here in the USA as a competition sport. The first thing that strikes me is that everyone who has POWERFlarm generally has the same basic capability. Those who don't have it are not able to see the "radar" but also cannot be leeched. So it's a null point there. First, we tell everyone to run out and buy a $2500 POWERFlarm because it works and it will increase safety! True, but not without its challenges. Antenna issues, installation issues ensued. Very few install the aft antenna for example! Many had very poor performance at first. Some still do. Slowly, over time a general satisfaction was finally reached (experience with using the tech, etc) and the POWERFlarm began to generally work as advertised. Today, 60-70% of US/Candian ompetiton pilots have them. But now, suddenly, in an unexplained US RC panic, it's a rush, rush, rush to virtually lobotomize a majority of the POWERFlarms capability (****ing off many) while putting the safety at risk in a completely untested manner. Sure, we may think the new mode (currently being developed?) should work, but there will be bugs and there will be pilot confusion (at MINIMUM!). "They" assume the new competition mode will be ready for next summers US contests and it will be 100% safe. It won't! We know this! Any logical person knows there will be issues with such a change. In a matter of a few months we went from Elmira where many said it was a big safety concern and did not like it (also STRONG PHILISOPHICAL DISAGREEMENT) to a mandate on US nationals next year! Incredible.

What's next? What if the satellite trackers (such as Delorme or the many others) cole out with a firmware update to show nearby targets? What about ADSB (max 5 years away)? Etc. Etc. This is insane.

Those who try and tightly control what soaring competition is, philisophically (timed huge area tasks, MATs, HATs (zero and one turn MATS and now coming soon, OLC tasks for example), have little moral ground in my opinion. We can't kick and scream like little girls every time a new technology has the potential to be change the sport slightly becuase we do more to change the substance and fairness of our sport here in the USA with our "unique" tasking philosophy (rolling the weather dice) than anything else, by far.

We keep falling back trying to make soaring what it was in 1960, technology wise. Yet, some here (who have been posting a great deal!) went nuts "wanting their cameras back" when GPS was introduced, or so I'm told. Incredible irony if that is true...but I'll keep that in my back pocket for now.

Im fine with making a sensible rule, once and awhile, but the viscous attack on every new technology that comes along is getting damn tiring. While we change the tasking dramatically and keep watering it down more and more! The US has far more important issues to focus on than Flarm.

Sean

Sean, have to be a stickler here.

You wrote 'The new high end US POWERFlarm is, with the US RCs new stealth/competition mode mandates, ......' and this is incorrect.

The SSA Rules Committee has recommended with agreement by the SSA Competition Chairperson, to a set of rule changes for the 2016 competition season. One rule is to mandate the use of Power Flarm stealth mode at National competitions.

Furthermore the rules committee also stated that 'In late January, the Rules Committee plans to review the situation and make a final recommendation to the SSA BOD.'

So, right now we know the stance of the rules committee and Competition Chairperson and the fact that they will review their stance in late January.

If you strongly disagree with their stance, as I see it, you have two courses of action, well three actually.

1 - do nothing and pout
2 - state your case to the rules committee before their review in January.
3 - If the rules committee holds the course you can lobby the SSA BOD to reject the rule(s) you object to. As I understand it the SSA BOD meeting will be held at the SSA convention.

Ranting on RAS is probably a waste of time at best

Ron Gleason

;-).

Technology improvement is always an interesting topic in any sport.

In sailing, entire classes (highly successful and strong) are angrily splitting up into 2 "camps." Those who want to upgrade to use new foiling technology (2x performance gains, exciting, the Americas Cup buzz) or traditionalists who don't want to evolve even though the class has always been pure development open (meaning rules are very basic, allowing modification and broad experimentation).

The forum arguments there make this look like a Sunday stroll with harp music in the background.

;-). Sigh...

On Wednesday, December 30, 2015 at 12:58:59 AM UTC-5, smfidler wrote:
;-).

Technology improvement is always an interesting topic in any sport.

In sailing, entire classes (highly successful and strong) are angrily splitting up into 2 "camps." Those who want to upgrade to use new foiling technology (2x performance gains, exciting, the Americas Cup buzz) or traditionalists who don't want to evolve even though the class has always been pure development open (meaning rules are very basic, allowing modification and broad experimentation).

The forum arguments there make this look like a Sunday stroll with harp music in the background.

;-). Sigh...

I understand drone tools may be doing the same to bass fishermen.
LOL
UH