FLARM

FLARM is employed in light aircraft collision warning device (English Portable Collision Avoidance System), which was originally developed in Switzerland for gliding and in a short time, world-wide attention and dissemination learned. It has the size of a cigarette, required for the operation very little electricity and essentially comprises a GPS receiver and a digital radio module, consisting of a transmitter, which, inter alia, the current position of the device at close range ( a few miles) other Flarms transmitted, and an associated receiver. The data transmission on a configurable frequency is ( in Europe and 868.2 868.4 MHz).

Development

Three young and dedicated glider pilot from Switzerland FLARM invented, built and launched in early 2004 as a device on the market. Gave impetus to the development of several fatal collisions between gliders and the realization that a complete visual aerial surveillance is not generally possible. Urs Rothacher is an electrical engineer. Andrea Schlapbach, dipl. natw. ETH has documented over 2000 hours in his flight log. Urban Mäder is in electrical engineering. All three are now working full-time for safe mine ( a FLARM -like application for vehicles in open-pit mines ). The authorities supported the project in so far as they are quite bureaucratic freely gave a radio frequency and exhibited the necessary permits. A not to be underestimated role also played many Swiss gliding clubs, which still recorded during the development phase options and payments rendered and so provided the necessary financial basis for the project.

They received the 2006 OSTIV price. The OSTIV (Organisation Scientifique et Technique de Vol a Voile ) presents the award every two years to scientists who have made special for the development of gliding.

In 2007, she received the award worth $ 20,000 award for security technology of the Prince Alvaro de Orleans Borbon - Fund. With the Prince Alvaro de Orleans Borbon Fund - technical developments will be awarded in air sports. The founder has the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI ), the world air sports federation, asked to choose the winners in each case.

Function

The display shows the Flarms adjacent planes of order of priority dangerous approach. It is not a substitute, but a highly effective support for aerial observation. Especially on the vielbeflogenen routes such as the course in the French Maritime Alps, the Swabian Alb, the Thuringian or Teutoburg Forest in Germany, the Swiss Jura or the Pinzgauer walk in Austria, the device is an effective aid to avoid collision. But even in the lowlands, where you often imagines himself alone, FLARM has become very common.

The glider provides collision warning with a problem: In the glider is often quite consciously and deliberately flown very close together, such as the common circuits in the same upwind or in parallel Vorfliegen. A collision warning system that responds solely to the distance between two aircraft would sound the alarm continually in these situations and would therefore be completely unusable for gliding. FLARM solves this problem so that it not only emits its own ( determined by GPS ) position, but additionally calculates the expected future flight path and transmitted with. The software segelflug typical flight conditions such as thermal circuits can recognize. The FLARM in the second plane makes for itself the same and then determines not only the distance of the aircraft, but also attempts to determine whether the two predicted future flight paths could meet. Only if this is the case, it suggests acoustically and with an LED compass rose that points in the direction of the other aircraft, alarm. The first warning is usually 18 seconds before the collision - the pilot remains time to respond. It is also possible that the FLARM is always the next equipped with FLARM aircraft on the display.

Since 2005 FLARM can record the flight path in IGC format and has also received additional pressure sensor for recording barometer. In the spring of 2008, the FLARM has received the IGC approval. An engine sensor for motor gliders can also be incorporated into this context. All FLARM devices from 2005 can be retrofitted with IGC- approval and engine sensor and thus used as a logger. From the third -generation hardware, it is possible to remove logger data via built-in microSD memory card reader and einzuspielen new firmware versions.

At AERO 2010 in Friedrichshafen primarily for powered aircraft designed PowerFlarm was presented, which also acts as a passive TCAS addition to FLARM functions and thus can also warn vessel equipped with Mode S, Mode A/C- and ADS-B -enabled transponders air traffic. There are both devices with display, representing the approaching aircraft graphically, as well as built-in versions and pass the traffic data for display on the navigation display of an MFD offered.

Display

In the first two versions of the representation of the horizontal convergence situation was implemented by a horizontal row of LEDs. Devices that have been shipped after the spring of 2006, a small LED compass rose. As of 2005, the height of the " collision partner " over four vertically arranged LEDs was shown that stand for above and below.

FLARM has a serial interface, the GPS data and (warning ) information about identified aircraft in the NMEA 0183 standard are issued. The manufacturer Artronic, Butterfly Avionics, EDIATec and LX Navigation offering external displays that can be used instead of the display on the main unit. In addition, there are devices that output the warnings by voice.

The data provided by FLARM may also include further warnings and glider - relevant tactical information in addition to the pure collision warnings. Moreover, these can be imported into compatible moving map devices and are used there for the display of aircraft warnings. This is possible currently with graphical displays of Butterfly Avionics and LX Navigation and most moving map programs XCSoar, GPS_Log, Sky Map, SeeyouMobile, pocket * Strepla, Winpilot, Flymap and Skymap.

Fixed obstacles

But any other aircraft equipped with FLARM the device also warns against fixed obstacles such as masts, cable cars and other officially known aviation obstructions. To this end, integrated in the device a database.

Dissemination

FLARMgeräte have become the de facto standard especially when used in the Alpine region gliders within a few years. Even in the lowlands more sailplanes, powered sailplanes, sports planes, helicopters and ultralight aircraft are equipped with Flarms. According to the manufacturer the end of 2012 are in Europe alone over 22,000 devices in use, which are in Germany about 9000. Half of these devices come from FLARM directly, the rest of third parties which make licensed compatible devices.

Compatible licensed products

In addition to the original FLARM there are still some other compatible products from other manufacturers. The various products are all based on the same FLARM core module, to ensure maximum compatibility between the devices. Since 2006 EDIATec GmbH offers a FLARM -compatible device for mounting the instrument panel. The ECW100 is a round instrument with 57 mm diameter and combines all FLARM capabilities with the proven round display of EDIATec in one device. ECW100 also has a distance indicator, an intercom port and an SD card.

Another manufacturer, Triadis from Switzerland, has developed a device called FLOICE for helicopters and airplanes; this is built among others in the helicopters of the Swiss Air Rescue.

LX Navigation and LXNAV offers in the current route flight computers on an integration of FLARM, and there are individual devices such as Colibri FLARM, Red Box and LX FLARM Mini.

The Swiss Altivariohersteller Flytec offers a " passive Flarm module " for his models 6020 and 6030: Paragliding and hang pilots can be "seen" by FLARM - equipped aircraft. However, the passive module can not teach the glider pilots over the direction of the " collision partner ", hence the name " passive ."

FLARM and ADS -B

FLARM is an implementation of ADS-B, optimized for the requirements of small aviation. There are various ADS-B systems, one of which was able to prevail no system globally to date for commercial aviation. These are VDL Mode 4, Mode S extended squitter ( " IT" ) and UAT.

Of the companies Funkwerk Avionics Avionics and Garrecht there is an ADS -B receiver with a Flarm - compatible interface. In this case, this unit is receiving ADS- B signals with the positions of suitably equipped aircraft and generates Flarm typical NMEA sentences. The positions of the equipped with ADS -B and Flarm aircraft may be described as on a shared display. ADS- B signals are currently being sent out about 85 % of all commercial aircraft ( selling in Europe as of 2017 ). In general aviation, the system is not yet established, but it can with little effort any common mode S transponders are equipped with a GPS receiver, so as to transmit ADS -B.

FLARM and SAR (Search and Rescue)

An interesting addition to use is in search of missing aircraft and hang glider pilots. Since encounters with other FLARM equipped aircraft in the IGC log is saved, the records of aircraft that have been in the vicinity of a missing aircraft may be used to draw conclusions about its flight path.

FlarmNet

FlarmNet is a community of FLARM users and was started by the third-party equipment manufacturers Butterfly Avionics contract FLARM Technology 2007. FlarmNet makes available a database in which the user which each FLARM can save their own radio ID along with data of the corresponding aircraft. The database can be downloaded from the website FlarmNet be installed on a compatible third party devices or software. Thus a mapping those data to the received FLARM devices is possible, provided that they are registered with FlarmNet. Currently over 3300 devices are registered with FlarmNet. This database is useful for, inter alia airfield statistics and accounting applications, as well as in the synthetic reconstruction of flight tracks of missing aircraft.

Safe Mine

2007 FLARM aviation units have been tested for use in vehicles in open-pit mines. From this, the company safe mine is developed, which today supplies more than 35 employees serving customers on every continent and has also sold more than 12,000 systems. A typical open-pit mine has several hundred vehicles in use, including dump trucks with loading capacity over 200 tons.