Super Saturday!!!...nah, not really.

The RASP was tempting...possible thermals upto 7000ft all the way down past Taupo.
So time to drag GYL out of the hanger...with the help of one of the syndicate partners.
Arrived at Matamata to find heaps of other gliders being rigged and cleaned. Auckland Aviation Sports had arrived, as well as some other itinerate pilots.

Got a chance to sneak a look inside Glyn's new Ventus GVV. Nice piece of kit...we should now expect big things of this lad...no pressure.

The Duo, on the other hand, has a few instrument problems. No back seat flight computer or vario, and no flight log to upload to the OLC. Unfortunately for me I prefer to fly GYL from the backseat. We are currently holding things together with duck tape (so to speak) until the new LX S80, Power Flarm and screens arrive. We have been waiting a while.

However launch we did...3 knots off tow to 5000ft and away to Morrinsville and the Swamp. Sadly north of the swamp was blue, very blue, so blue it was almost violet. Oh well lets go south....
After a good climb on the Cambridge Hills we set off into deep space...nothing, nada, zippo etc etc.
Push on I said to my partner...something must happen...and it did, we ended up struggling away from over an airstrip. OK that didn't work...but I still want to go somewhere...

The remaining gliding gadget suggested perhaps, maybe, possibility the wind was building from the west. 2 knots at 235 degrees...yeah the ridge will work at that strength...so away we went.
And as sure as Dolly Parton only sleeps on her back...the ridge sorta worked.
Only problem was fighting ridge induced thermals in close to the rocks/trees made my passenger airsick.

Time to go home. However whilst we were aloft we could hear A Cable crowing about huge thermals south of Rotorua...strangely I though I could hear his engine running, and Maurice asking about airstrips east of Galatea, and the Drury boys stuck at Huntly.

So bugger the RASP next time I'll just stick to the tried and true method of forecasting at 6pm rather than 6am.

A slight tinge of violet.

The only clouds in the sky...and a nice halo around my fellow pilot.

A selfie...if Obama can do it, so can I.

Re-Training...

With the season approaching I need to get my weather forecasting skills back up and running.
I think its important to put your forecast on record and then review at the days end. Too often we hear "well I always thought it was going to be crap" at 5pm...what use is that!
So Sunday.
By 2pm things look quite good. Light winds from the South and 18 degrees forecast on the ground. We should see 4-5 knots climbs.

 

 

And from the squiggly lines we can see 5500ft bases and no high cloud.



However with recent rain and light winds plus no inversion in the red line I'm guessing over-development will be the focus of the afternoon.
Go early and go fast and watch you can get home.

Update - it was a good day however, no over development...which I'm guessing was due to the wind being slightly stronger than I predicted...or else I'm a crap forecaster.
Lots of locals went flying. The flight of the day goes to PW5 driver...excellent effort.
Me...well I thought I'd help out with an ATC camp.

On its way back home...

GVR in Poland

Who's this cleaning my glider in Poland. She doesn't appear to be completely focused on the task...

 

But then again this chap looks slightly distracted as well...

In Poland a tow charge includes a complimentary umbrella holder as well..

 

 

A sign of things to come...

Management of our runway comes to mind...

And airspace, and trial flights, and..., and... etc.

Kiwis in a flat land

Team Kiwi is about to goose-step into Poland.
Follow it on Brett's blog site -
lesznowgc.blogspot.com

We look forward to a Larry Ellison moment.

As you might have guessed...

I'm not updating this blog at present.
In fact I don't plan on getting going again until next summer.

Why next summer??
Because, in no particular order;

My JS1 gets back from Poland in Oct/Nov...assuming WW3 doesn't brake out in the Ukraine.
As of today, Russia has annexed the Crimea (no surprises here...), the Europeans and US turned off Russia's access to external capital -  a bit like the US turning off Japan's access to oil in 1940...that worked really well...not, pro-Russian thugs are baiting the government in Kiev and Russia is looking for an excuse to defend the local Russian speaking population - like Hitler did in Europe in the run up to WW2, and then the final straw is US depositing troops in Ukraine and Poland...history...we never learn do we...

I'm likely to head down to Omarama this summer...either with the Duo, or a JS1, or both. Not sure yet. Not planning on flying the Nationals as it tends to restrict your flying. Maybe the Club class Nationals in Drury if I can find a Club class glider.

I'm in NZ this summer...rather than freezing my butt off in Canada. Great place, great skiing, but bloody hell its cold.

See ya on the other side of winter...

A view from afar...

A few observations from chilly Canada;
It's minus 15 outside...just a few degrees colder than home.
However it's not pouring down with rain...I see 55mm's on the farm in the last 24 hours.
In the same time frame we had 20mm's of snow down here in the valley and 100mm's up in the hills.

Good wave off the hills to the west of us yesterday...in fact there are hills in all directions.
Taking off and landing could be a challange...the Banff airstrip is under a foot of snow.
Even Calgary airport could be a challange...I had to drive back into Calgary today to swap cars...it was snowing and blowing...I'd guess 10-20 cms fell on the city overnight.

In the local town I came across an updated Spot Tracker...with a phone attached. In fact its really a Sat Phone with a spot tracker attached.
The monthly cost is high but it does show where the technology might be going.

I'm watching the Nationals from here...not a good start...raining...but what else would you expect for a gliding contest.

On the morrow

Looks like the forecast was about right...
You are bound to get one right sooner or later....

A forecast just for Keith

Understandable given he has 17-20 ATC kids to fly tomorrow..

This front should move off the country overnight.
SW winds tomorrow.
Reasonably unstable air.

If you get started at 9am it should be a bit easier than later in the day when the wind and thermals should get up a bit.

The twist will be how much high cloud floats about.
The NOAA sqiggly lines graph shows quite a bit...therefore the RASP will over call the day.

The thermals will be a bit broken but if the high cloud breaks then expect 5-6 knots in good places.

15 knots on the ground at times but straight down 04/22.
Good for managing larger groups.

Good luck young grasshopper....

How to utilise your Saturday to the max....

Doing my duty instructor day.
Turned up first.
No trial flights or instruction booked.
Waited.
2 members turned up so we rigged all the gliders that no-one else had had the time to do. Thanks Scott, Olly and John.
Taped and DI 'd said gliders...
Washed said gliders...
Waited.
Went and brought a spade handle...brought a hot sausage...
Waited.
Read some work papers...
Waited.
It's now 1 pm and I'd rather be swimming...
And the day looks like this....

 

and we had this weapon at hand...

Nth Is Regionals

They are underway...how do we know this???
Because the results are being posted on Soaring Spot.
http://www.soaringspot.com/nznr2013/
You don't have to navigate through the NZ Gliding main page to find out...and you don't have to wait until some-one else prompts you to go looking...word of mouth really.

I've said it before...and I'll say it again...to my comrades in Omarama...you really really really should move into the 21st century and post your results on the universally accepted central website for contests - here, there and everywhere (except the US of A - where perhaps the Homeland Act requires their results to be posted with the NSA...who would know).

So WHY should the mountain men use Soaring Spot???

Because then other people might find out what's happening down there.
I know you think it's paradise and I know many believe it's the centre of the universe BUT the rest of us do take an interest in what's happening down there...

So to the local contest. 23 entries...not bad.
No South Island contestants however I think 3 or 4 flatlanders travelled down to the Sth Is Regionals.

I see a contestant called Melissa Jenkins won Day 1 in the 15 meter class. I think that's the first time a female pilot has a won a day for some time. Outstanding.
We do have a contest pilot called Tracy Austin...but she's a bloke...who flies one of the best gliders ever built...GNM.

Looking outside I suspect today will be a no fly day.

South Island Regionals

Yes they have started...
You wouldn't know it if used SoaringSpot as means of following gliding contests (as 99.999% of glider pilots do...except those in the Mainland). Oh...actually the Americians don't in many cases either but that's hardly a compelling reason given they still measure distance in inches or pounds or some quaint unit...
I seem to remember that buried in the excellent report that Ralph Henderson wrote after the Nationals held in Omarama last summer...was the comment that the results need to be posted to SoaringSpot.

However if you want to experience the good old days...lets do the timewarp again -

http://glidingcomps.42.net.nz/sireg2013/

And if some-one could suggest how I turn the "text" tracklogs into a "igc" file so I again re-play them in SeeYou it would be much appreciated. I just got to know how Trev Terry in a Duo beat Grae in a Ventus 2cxt....

Friday's convergence

As expected a warm day and little opposing wind saw the sea air push inland.
It stalled at about 4pm 20-25 kms inland.

The RASP!!!

It proved rather less than accurate last week.
As did metservice.

However a quick look at this mornings RASP indicates a large convergence from the Waikato all the way down pass Mt Ruapehu.
7-9000ft cloud bases and 7 knot climbs.
Very little over-development.
A converging sea breeze from the west coast colliding with the light S to Se winds.
We will see.

Two poo...or perhaps the Central Plateau Contest

Thanks to Taupo Gliding Club for yet again hosting another fun week.

Points to note;
The weather didn't quite live upto its normal standard.

My older Duo, which is a re-build from various bits and bobs, is clearly much faster than the clubs flash new Duo XLT...and a JS1 as well...

Weather forecasting is a Black Art. I under called one day and over called two others.

On the plus side I had to exit the contest for 2 days as work got in the way and had thought I'd miss at least 1 great day of flying...both days were write offs...good for me...not so for others.

Day 1 saw a pilot of huge experience part with his little Discus, having owned it for 27 years (that's longer than I've had to tolerate children), and drive off with an 18 meter Ventus. It's trend we might see more of as the standard/15 class slowly dwindles away. It could take 20 years to dwindle away all the same. Which provides some lucky club the chance of acquiring a mighty Discus B. In my humble opinion the best single seat glider a club can own. Easy fly, rig and maintain. Still competitive in the standard and club class. Lots of room. No vices in the air.

On a day that was too hard to task due to the uncertainty of holding the fleet up around the start area, the organisers allowed free flying and scored the day on the OLC. What a brilliant idea...especially since yours truely managed to win the day!!!

I was beaten on the last day by my old Discus GNM. Fantastic.

All my Co-pilots were great, none were air-sick (quite the achievement for me), and I hope everyone had fun...I did.

Sleeping in a tent was better than I remember it...although the fireworks on the last night was an added extra we could have done without.

I've decided I'm getting older. The climb up Mt Tauhara took 60 minutes...that's 10 minutes slower than 2 years ago...bugger.

Tauranga is now 4th on the inter-club NZ online contest. I'm finished flying for the meantime (due to a calling to investigate Canada's ski-fields), so it's up to the rest of you...mentioning no names. Remember it's distance that matters, not time in the air.

Its way way cheaper flying in Taupo than Omarama. I paid $420 total for the contest...entry fee, tows etc. That's about one days worth down south. Yes I know the flying in the mountains is really really great but the difference in cost is starting to get out of hand...I think.

It's so hot today I commissioned our pool and went for a swim...a short swim...

Another Duo on task...albeit a much slower one...

 

 

See slower...and lower...OK enough showing off...luck played a big part.

 

 

A very bad photo of Huka Falls

 

A nice evening as a thunder storm departs the task area.

Tauranga finally on the OLC

After getting a suggestion we keep a spreadsheet of the distances flown from Tauranga (how 2000's is that!!)...I decided it was time to get the local club on the OLC.
Anyone can log a flight...it's really easy. In fact with the SeeYou Recorder App on an iPhone or Android its even easier...however those of us with Microsoft Phone 8 phones (duh) it requires a few extra steps.
So we have a couple of flights up and hopefully more to come.
Remember X-Country soaring is about distance NOT time in the air...
For the record in 2009/10 we flew 11,000kms out of Tga.

Taupo awaits...

Hardly a weekend of Labour

Far from it...

My first proper thermal flight since last season.

Given I was taking the Duo I needed ballast and a front seat passenger. Found a delightful young chap from Aviation Sports Auckland. He'd only completed 7 previous flights in his training schedule, and from the look of it he'd be lucky to get any flying during the day due to the level of activity about the airfield.
Are you prepared for a 3 hour flight? Yip.
Do you have to be back by any set time? No...great cos we could land-out...
Do you get air-sick? No...well we fixed that...somewhere in forest between Tokoroa and Mangakino is a big bag of sick.

So off we went...South. Judging from the bleating on the radio North wasn't anywhere as good.

We should have gone further but for a first day out it wasn't too bad.
At one point we had 3 Duo's in the Mangakino area. GTT, GXT and GYL.

The young chap "in-command". Surprising good for a Year 11 student.

Also near Tokoroa

Mangakino.

I haven't forgotten..

Just been a bit distracted...
When some one suggested today that the blog had been taken down by the "dark side" I thought I better get back to it.

Flew today. Even convinced the "better half" to come flying.
I thought it was going to be blue...and it was in the Bay of Plenty...but in the Waikato it was a bit better.
Ran into Team Drury heading for Tirau and home. Really good to see experienced X-country pilots from Auckland being encouraged to take the Duo (GDX) for the day to mentor and coach newer members.
Duo's are made for that.
And I'm increasingly convinced that the best way to retain and encourage "post-solo" pilots is to foster X-country flying. It's distance flown NOT time in the air that is important.

Team NZ are competing in the Ozzie Nationals. Doing OK. Steve Wallace claimed a second today. Well done.
Here's the website if you haven't already found it.
News from the contest is a bit thin on the ground...that or I haven't stumbled across it yet.

http://www.soaringspot.com/ausmulti52/

Excuse the quality of the photos...it was a phone camera.

See there was thermals in the Waikato...

But it was blue in the BoP.

Who's that lurking in the back seat...

Good golly miss molly...

on Sunday I actually went flying. I could even remember how to rig the Duo. And guess what...when I pushed the stick forward the nose went down...just like last year.
A ridge day but with a nice 5 knot thermal climb that got us out to the Waikato River.

I did take some photos of the JS1 but it looks so so tiny in the photo that I'll need to do some photo-shopping to do it justice.

So I suppose I now have my Duo rating for the summer.

Planning on taking it down to Taupo for the Central Plateau blat.

Self-launcher

But not the one you were expecting...

 

 

This morning the US announced it had undertaken 2 more Drone strikes in the Yemen.
Up to nine suspected al-Qaida militants had been killed.
Good news to some perhaps...

However the key word in this press release is "suspected"...
Suspected by who? Suspected of doing what? Will we ever know if the "suspected bit" was even fact? Were the nine really al-Qaida members or just opponents of the Yemeni Government? If so can I call in a drone strike on the Green Party?

And even if the nine were "militants" it still raises other issues;
The Columbia Law School's Human Rights Institute estimate that up to 50 civilians are killed for every 1 militant killed in a drone strike. So could the press release be re-worded to "450 mothers and children killed along with 9 suspected militants in todays Drone strikes" ?

What ever happened to the "Rule of Law" and "habeas corpus"??? Innocent until proven guilt??

Western Governments are given license to defend their populations...but using unmanned aircraft in a third world countries with dubious governments (which are being propped up by the US) to kill villagers, seems a very long bow to draw...

The Nobel Committee saw fit to give Obama a peace prize...is this what they envisaged?

And lastly, these drone strikes are being seen as grossly unjust and unfair by the local populations subjected to this abuse and so how many more young men are motivated to join the likes of al-Qaida as a result?

I suspect my neighbour is abusing his wife...can I call in a drone strike?? Of course not. I call the police who undertake an investigation and bring a case to court. The chap is arrested and brought before his peers. The facts are presented for all to see and jury of his peers and/or a judge decides. That is the Rule of Law".

Update - 9 days on and the Yemeni Gov't issued a press statement disputing claims 9 civilians had been killed in the Drone strikes and that "most" of those killed where suspected militants. So, firstly, some of those killed were in fact civilians, and secondly, after 9 days the Gov't hasn't been able to confirm that the others were militants at all. But 9 days is a long time and the bet will be we have forgotten about these poor unfortunate individuals...until the next time.

Back to gliding next...sorry.

Bit by little bit...

CAA have caved in to the request from Australian airlines and lowered the airspace over Mt Cook to accommodate flights originating out of Oz heading for Sth America.
Despite overwhelming objections from glider pilots about the desire to maintain a freedom to operate we are now constrained to FL245...for now.

Interesting note in the ruling is the claim that further reductions will be required in the future for Turbo-prop flights...I assume out of Queenstown heading for Auckland.

I'll give the US of A some credit...they seem free of these encroachments on publicly owned airspace.


Just watch one of Bruno Vassel's flights in the Utah area. 18,000ft without any need to talk to the fun police. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hze9WUSlzxk
They seem to be able to do this despite the vastly greater volumes of flying buses...and I mean really seriously greater volumes of flying heavy metal. I spent a season skiing in Utah (a miss spent youth) and you could always see 5-10 vapour trails in the sky at any time...and therefore you could assume a whole lot more at lowers levels as well.
Here in the land of the long white cloud you are lucky to see one IFR per hour or even per day.
There is something rotten in the state of Denmark people....

Rumours...updated...

It appears that yet another club is in the throws of changing from a big, old, smelly, loud, fuel hungry Piper type tow plane to something lighter, smaller, newer, quieter and considerably more fuel efficient.

You could almost say that if you had any doubts about the future of your Pawnee/Cub you'd better get it on the market quick before there's a flood.

Also here is a link to a neat little video that a local member produced before the fun police turned up...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs681rB3aMQ

While I'm at it...here's a clip from the good old US of A...a couple of low passes at a gliding site in an ASW27...pass 1 is good BUT pass 2 is really testing the boundaries... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuptAQrwZZk ...I'm just imagining the outcome of doing that in NZ... We were once an adventurous, free-spirited nation where people set out to climb big mountains...maybe not now.

Oh, and on a different matter...sometimes you can beat the Cardigan wearers...this from the "GAA" site,
"The meddling by CAA with the NZTA medical for recreational pilot licence holders is effectively at an end. It has taken since February, but pilots now have an excellent result."
Read the rest, as well as the history behind the drama, here... http://www.caa.gen.nz/?p=3098

Rumour has it...

That a micro-light has become the leading option for yet another clubs primary towing aircraft.
It was either spend heaps on re-powering a big old Pawnee or look for something new.
We already have one club totally committed to using a Micro-light/LSA as the tow-plane of choice.

This is becoming a bit of a trend.
And why would one be surprised...what with most of us still using aircraft designed and built before the war, that cost a fortune to maintain, use gas like a Sherman tank, and make plenty of noise...

Times are a changing...

And then...and then...after I'd written this I went off for a 10 minute surf to see if there are any new gliding Video's posted - and guess what...a neat video of a Libelle flying somewhere in the Alps in Europe...A Libelle...how can that be interesting???

Ahh...no ordinary Libelle...it has bright red winglets...AND...bug wipers!!! That has got to be a first...
http://vimeo.com/70145532
Really well edited all the same...I think we forget that sticking a GoPro to the wing of your glider and going flying is the easy part. Good editing is still time consuming and a skill.

Actually we have been banned from sticking camera's to club gliders...the fun police have been about.
Pity really, it added to the sports promotion.
You can see it now...a bunch of younger people comparing cool video clips of their sport (base jumping, skiing, moto-cross etc) while the budding glider pilot hides under the table..."where's your video clip bro???"...umm the old codgers won't let me use the camera...

PowerFlarm...

This e-mail turned up this morning. An interesting read. (thanks to David Scott for thinking of passing it on and to the author Bruce from Canada)
We here in the North Island are probably lagging behind this debate. However for Flarm to work you need a critical mass of gliders equipped or else it's just an expensive power hungry lump of electronics's...a bit like a transponder really.
As for PowerFlarm...it might be useful in areas with lots of flying buses and VFR power chaps with their heads inside the cockpit relying on Airways for separation...Tauranga perhaps.
More data is probably required on power consumption, accuracy and pilot behavioural change.
However, if the owner of GlideOmarama is to be believed, he won't tow gliders at future contests unless they are equipped with Flarm.
I must admit that flying north along the Two Thumb Range with dust blowing off the upper reaches of the Godley River, and gliders going in and out of the turnpoint, it was very very difficult to see approaching gliders...at a combined closing speed of 200 knots plus.

Dear ESC Friends,

 

Being out of town, and unable to "reply" to my shaw email, I missed out on the recent PowerFlarm dustup, or at least I missed out on the opportunity to stick my oar in and say something I would regret.

 

I am now, however, able to provide a User Report on the PowerFlarm.  

 

Here is a photo of the Discus and me, with the PowerFlarm portable unit prominent on the top of the glare shield, with its distinctive twin antennas.  From what I have read, the Schempp-Hirth gliders allow the easiest and cleanest installation, since the whole unit including vertical antennas fit under the canopy.  My unit is an early portable version, and has not yet had the most recent hardware and software upgrades.  The portable has a small (1.5 inch?) screen which in this installation has a prominent place in the pilot's vision.  It displays the location of each target acquired and its relative altitude.  The unit has a speaker, which issues audible warnings:   alerts for proximity, and more urgent noises when it has computed a collision course.  I have the PowerFlarm connected to the Oudie soaring computer, running LK8000, which also displays the locations of targets on a larger screen, plus relative climb rate.

 

At the Ephrata contest, about 25 of the 30 gliders participating were PowerFlarm equipped.

There are, of course, positives and negatives.  I will start with the negatives.

 

• In a large pre-start gaggle - 5 or 10 gliders in one thermal within a total of 1000' of altitude, I allocated zero scan time to the PowerFlarm.  My eyes were outside.  The unit was frequently issuing alerts.  As if I needed any encouragement to be alert.  Well, to be honest, one can become even more alert - it did have that effect on me - but other than that the information was more scary than helpful.
• Transponder data is very fuzzy - it tells you range to target is decreasing but not the direction from which it is coming.  
• This was the main reason for the net negative contribution from PowerFlarm in large gaggles.  If I had had the power, I would have insisted all gliders turn off their transponders in the pre-start period.
• It was "disconcerting" to be looking out the window, spotting guys over there, up there, down there, and having the unit making very urgent noises.
• Transponders show up as an additional aircraft.  One day, coming back at the end of the day, I found myself in a thermal with another glider.  I could see him there, perfectly positioned on the other side of the thermal, just a little below me, consistent with the Flarm display.  Except the PowerFlarm was showing two other aircraft, both "-02", or 200 feet below me.  I could see one, where was the other?  And the unit was making quite a racket.  That evening I had a chat with the other pilot, confirmed there were only two of us, and confirmed he had a transponder switched on plus a PowerFlarm.
• The PowerFlarm is not reliable.  Frequently I saw a target, e.g. 800 feet below and to the right rear.  And then it disappeared.   Where did it go?  My conclusion was my unit was almost blind to aircraft directly behind me.  Antenna issues are a challenge.  Therefore, the PowerFlarm does not replace the window.
• People found it disconcerting to see a bunch of gliders in the landing pattern area.  Turns out if you land, clear the runway, and leave the unit running, it looks like a glider beside the runway.  Well, duh!  And there is an altitude readout.  Except if you get too many of them, the data displayed steps all over itself, and anyways it is hard to figure out when there are a bunch of targets.  The morning pilot meeting safety tips repetitively included calls to switch off the Flarm as soon as possible.
• It is a sensor.  Like any sensor, it has some accuracy and some precision.  A reading of 200 foot separation can mean zero separation - all that would take is a mis-calibration of one or both units, well within the error margin for the technology.  You can't trust it to be exact.

 

Positives:

 

• The PowerFlarm does indeed provide a heads up when there are other gliders nearby, usually.  I found this most helpful in situations such as:
• another glider joins you in a thermal far enough below you that the pilot does not feel the need to join on the far side - can be below or below and behind.  You know he/she is there.
• you hit a thermal, swing in to the core, and only then notice there is someone a thousand feet above you - perhaps hard to spot against the cloud above him.  Then you start gaining on him (well, sometimes).  perhaps you need to reverse your turn.
• you are thermaling away, and then notice a couple of gliders half a mile away - they are in a different core, and circling the other way.
•  O.K. you should always see all the other gliders.  Well, no, you don't.  At least, I don't - I now know that for a fact.  And all the other pilots I spoke to were willing to make the same admission.  No, it doesn't replace the window, but it does add information.
• It is fun to be able to watch whether the folks in the next core over are doing better or worse than you.
• It is extremely interesting to watch the separation between you and the person below you in the same thermal shrinking.  Clearly, at some point, that glider will become very important.  Perhaps you can't see it; you now know you need to find it, whatever that takes
• It is an OLC valid logger.
• It can feed glide computers, which can then do very interesting things like tell you who in the vicinity has the best thermal.
• It does display not only other PowerFlarm equipped gliders, but also ADIS-B and PCAS (transponder equipped) aircraft.  The complaints above about transponders relate solely to gliders carrying both units - power planes with transponders will show up, and that is a huge benefit.

 

In summary:

• I found the PowerFlarm a valuable assistant at Ephrata.  It added information.  It showed me things I hadn't seen, or seen yet.
• I found it most useful when dealing with one or two or perhaps three other targets within a mile or two.  In other words, in the environment one finds around a field such as Chipman on a lovely afternoon.
• In normal flying, I added it to my scan.  Sitting on top of my glare shield, it is perfectly placed to be one stop in a horizontal scan.  I found myself, as I rolled in to a thermal, starting my scan as far over my shoulder as possible, as usual, scanning across the horizon to try to spot any "company" already in that thermal - and as my scan traversed across dead ahead it was a piece of cake to see if there were any "targets" on the PowerFlarm screen.  I carried on, completed the scan, without actually "reading" what was on the screen, then, if there was data on the PowerFlarm screen, came back to it to actually read the numbers and compass direction of the target, to establish direction and relative altitude.  Seeing nothing there was encouraging (my unit seems pretty reliable when banked into a thermal, no blind spots that I could tell).  The time required to include one additional stop in the scan I was making anyways, and to shift focus for that one stop, was, in my experience minimal and manageable. 
• Other than that I rarely even glanced at it.  But it would have squawked if it had computed a collision course.  Therefore, one legitimate option is to relegate it to solely that audible warning device role, and still gain considerable safety benefit.  In other words, speculation the PowerFlarm would be a net safety negative - because attention to it would compete with/decrease attention to more important or effective tasks - is, in my experience, not correct.  A valid concern, but, in my experience, not true.
• I never looked at the PowerFlarm data on the flight computer; I never used the LK8000 extension of the data provided by the PowerFlarm.
• It was apparent the better PowerFlarm installations, with the "Brick" unit and better antennas, were better than mine.
• At Ephrata, flying without a PowerFlarm was almost socially unacceptable.  At the morning pilots' meetings, and in numerous smaller-group discussions, there were many comments along the lines, "if you don't have a PowerFlarm, I'd rather you don't lurk along behind me", and "if you don't have a PowerFlarm, please find your own thermal".  It was not brutal, or nasty, or "excluding".  However, it was clear: that particular group of experienced sailplane pilots were convinced, as individuals, that PowerFlarm is a net safety benefit.

 

I would be happy to expand on any of these comments, or answer any questions, to the whole group or in private email exchanges.

 

Cheers

 

Bruce