GliderLink - New team soaring app for airborne location sharing

Hello Ben and greetings from Canada.

I installed the App but could not download the area covering South West Quebec and South East Ontario. Montreal Soaring Council, our club is located in Hawkesbury, ON.

Is it difficult to add the Canadian Map ?

Best of luck with this project. I see great potential specially as suggested if it can be integrated into other Apps such as XCsoar !

It would be fantastic if this could be integrated with Top Hat

I have Flarm and I still would use this - because in the US only racers have Flarm. I see this a the perfect solution for a club environment.

Please make an iOS version.

And look at the possibility of an NMEA output so the glider data could be sent to other soaring map displays via Bluetooth - Oudie, LXnnnn, Clearnav, etc.

Perhaps some other smart guy could come up with a way to deconflict duplicate tracks (FLARM vs ADSB vs GliderLink. Possibly by callsign?

Kirk
66

On Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 11:04:21 AM UTC-6, kirk.stant wrote:
I have Flarm and I still would use this - because in the US only racers have Flarm. I see this a the perfect solution for a club environment.

Please make an iOS version.

And look at the possibility of an NMEA output so the glider data could be sent to other soaring map displays via Bluetooth - Oudie, LXnnnn, Clearnav, etc.

Perhaps some other smart guy could come up with a way to deconflict duplicate tracks (FLARM vs ADSB vs GliderLink. Possibly by callsign?

Kirk
66

"because in the US only racers have Flarm"

For clarification, at Moriarty we have over 20 owners with PowerFlarms and only 1 or 2 actually race in regionals or nationals. Now, we almost all "do" fly the OLC....and we all would rather not run into each other or run into other traffic... ;-)

On Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 12:25:16 PM UTC-5, Renny wrote:
On Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 11:04:21 AM UTC-6, kirk.stant wrote:
I have Flarm and I still would use this - because in the US only racers have Flarm. I see this a the perfect solution for a club environment.

Please make an iOS version.

And look at the possibility of an NMEA output so the glider data could be sent to other soaring map displays via Bluetooth - Oudie, LXnnnn, Clearnav, etc.

Perhaps some other smart guy could come up with a way to deconflict duplicate tracks (FLARM vs ADSB vs GliderLink. Possibly by callsign?

Kirk
66

"because in the US only racers have Flarm"

For clarification, at Moriarty we have over 20 owners with PowerFlarms and only 1 or 2 actually race in regionals or nationals. Now, we almost all "do" fly the OLC....and we all would rather not run into each other or run into other traffic... ;-)

Ok, fair point - I'll amend my comment to "because in the US only XC and racers have Flarm". Sure, some school/commercial operators may have them (Williams?) but the great unwashed are struggling to get radios and audio varios in their trainers, much less Flarm!

PS - I've had a PF in my LS6 since day one - before that I had a PCAS, and if I could carry an APG-82v1 AESA radar with an APX-119 Interrogator I would have one of those, too! I REALLY like knowing what is around me!

Kirk
66

Just for an addional data point, Texas Soaring Association has
PowerFlarm in all 10 club gliders and 3 Pawnee towplanes. Plus an
additional 24 PowerFlarm units in privately owned gliders on the
field.

Bob

On Fri, 27 Apr 2018 07:01:44 -0700 (PDT), "kirk.stant"
wrote:

.... text deleted

Ok, fair point - I'll amend my comment to "because in the US only XC and racers have Flarm". Sure, some school/commercial operators may have them (Williams?) but the great unwashed are struggling to get radios and audio varios in their trainers, much less Flarm!

PS - I've had a PF in my LS6 since day one - before that I had a PCAS, and if I could carry an APG-82v1 AESA radar with an APX-119 Interrogator I would have one of those, too! I REALLY like knowing what is around me!

Kirk
66

I am a US based pilot and I am not aware of any privately owned and flown gliders at my airfield that do not have Flarm.

On Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 10:04:21 AM UTC-7, kirk.stant wrote:
I have Flarm and I still would use this - because in the US only racers have Flarm. I see this a the perfect solution for a club environment.

Please make an iOS version.

And look at the possibility of an NMEA output so the glider data could be sent to other soaring map displays via Bluetooth - Oudie, LXnnnn, Clearnav, etc.

Perhaps some other smart guy could come up with a way to deconflict duplicate tracks (FLARM vs ADSB vs GliderLink. Possibly by callsign?

Kirk
66

On Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 1:33:39 PM UTC-4, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
I am a US based pilot and I am not aware of any privately owned and flown gliders at my airfield that do not have Flarm.

It's a regional thing. I am a US based pilot and I am not aware of any gliders flown at my airfield that have Flarm. (Out of about a dozen.) In our soaring area there is relatively little civilian non-glider air traffic. And within the glider flying community it's a chicken-and-egg thing, it's useless since nobody else has it, so why buy it.

On Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 2:12:20 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 1:33:39 PM UTC-4, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
I am a US based pilot and I am not aware of any privately owned and flown gliders at my airfield that do not have Flarm.

It's a regional thing. I am a US based pilot and I am not aware of any gliders flown at my airfield that have Flarm. (Out of about a dozen.) In our soaring area there is relatively little civilian non-glider air traffic. And within the glider flying community it's a chicken-and-egg thing, it's useless since nobody else has it, so why buy it.

Correction: I think there is ONE pilot here with FLARM. Probably because he goes to contests elsewhere.

I have a question for pilots who have put off installing Flarm because 'it is too expensive'...

What is the 'go to excuse' for not installing Glider Link (assuming you already own an Android phone)?

WRT enhancements. I think a phone app should aim to do just one thing well. The first priority should be a port to IPhone. This will get more aircraft onto Glider Link, sooner rather than later.