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Mid-air collisions are a longstanding danger in aviation. Glider pilots have additional mid-air threats due to thermalling, cloud-street flying and ridge running—all of which put us in close proximity to each other—and gliders are terribly hard to see. No matter how vigilant we are, we all have stories of "near misses." There are mid-air collisions or near misses each year in both club flying and in competition, and between gliders and towplanes. The past few year's tragedies and near-tragedies have made the US gliding community acutely aware of the mid-air hazard.

The FLARM system was developed in Europe to address the unique nature of the glider midair collision danger. Its successor, the PowerFlarm system, will be available in the US shortly. Flarm and PowerFLARM systems are starting to come up frequently in conversations across the country, on rec.aviation.soaring, and at just about every soaring venue imaginable.  These web pages try to present accurate, unbiased information about the FLARM and PowerFLARM collision avoidance systems for the glider pilot community, and to support an informed discussion about the use of Flarm in the US.

These pages have been compiled by Bill Elliott and John Cochrane - contest pilots who have recently flown with Flarm while representing USA in the world championships, and witnessed how well it works in a very challenging environment. To get some idea of this experience, read the testimonials from US team pilots who have flown with Flarm in world championships, and  see a simulation of what the pilots involved in the Parowan mid-air would have seen and heard with Flarm.

We have no financial interest in or formal connection to FLARM or its distributors. Dave Nadler, a contest pilot and principal designer of the ILEC SN-10 flight computer, contributed much of the technical discussion in these pages. Urs Rothacher from FLARM Technology GmbH and Lee Kuhlke, the US FLARM Distributor, have reviewed the content for accuracy.

Below is a list of some of the pages associated with the FLARM technology on this site and they address topics like:

• What is FLARM and PowerFLARM
• FLARM Technical Overview - How does it work ?
• Overviews of Transponders and TCAS and ADS-B
• Answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
• A set of testimonials from recent US pilot experience with FLARM
• A list of pilots who have ordered a FLARM unit. When you order one, add your name to the list, to encourage others.
• And, finally a good Reference List

Our view:

Click here to read about why we have put so much effort into developing these pages.

-- Bill WE, John BB, and Dave YO
send us an email at mailto:flarm@gliderpilot.org