Hi!

I recently bought a device called "air connect" to send collision warning information from my PowerFlarm device to Skydemon. Using a Y-Cable I still have the butterfly display connected to the PowerFlarm device so that I can compare the visualization in Skydemon with what PowerFlarm displays on its butterfly display.

The question is:
I sometimes see other traffic in Skydemon, shown as green airplanes, which are either Flarm or ADS-B sources and that's fine. But because for Mode-S XPDR PowerFlarm cannot have a precise location of the source, the butterfly display shows a circle around my airplane.

I have not seen these circles in Skydemon yet while these circles were shown on the butterfly display. I have the impression that Skydemon is not showing these. Is there anything I need to set up?

Thanks in advance!

T.

You may need to pay a fee and enable it in power flarm

That's right if you would want to connect a (Power)Flarm (PF) audio out to your audio panel. I cannot do that because I am an early customer and my device does not provide that audio out (double checked with their support).

SkyDemon retrieves FLARM and other non bearing approximation information from PF. The PF device itself does not inform Skydemon about "There's going to be a collision". It just sends the information about other aircrafts (FLARM) or non bearing objects (source: XPDR) in your area. It's Skydemon that's showing those information on the map. But Skydemon is not triggering an audio alert in case there's an approximation. That's the issue. There is no point showing an approximation on a map in Skydemon without an audible alert. You're better off watching the sky rather than watching your iPad to be informed about other traffic. The whole point of PF is warning you, in case you missed something while looking out.

Now I still have the Butterfly display connected to my PF and that produces an audible alarm. But since I bought an ANR headset (for the price of a small used car), it just doesn't get through anymore. the alarm is just not loud enough. However, I have my headset connected via BT to the iPad. So I hear all audible alarms that Skydemon produces.

Bottom line: I don't see that it makes any sense that Skydemon produces audible and visible warning for everything (there's an antenna 3nm in front of and 800ft below you) but it just produces visible and not audible warnings when it should know about other airplanes in your area being on a collision course.

As for your question:
Forget about displaying PF information. There's no point in seeing a position on a map in Skydemon or on your Butterfly display. The whole point of PF is to make you aware that there's something in the air close to you. And the one and only thing that a pilot MUST do in this moment is to look out the window. PF is nothing more than a device that should trigger you to watch out NOW. You need to make sure that you are being alarmed.

Is it stable?
In terms of that it does not crash: Yes.

Is it reliable?
No. Not at all. It just cannot. There are too many flying objects (especially those slow gyros) that neither have Flarm nor XPDR. Flarm is not radar.

Does it make sense?
For me: a bit. It increases security a bit but it does in no way relieve you of awareness. I had a couple of unwanted approximations that my PF did not warn me about. However I couldn't ask the other pilot if he has no equipment at all in his plane or even turned it off. It depends on where you are flying. If there are a lot of other gliders: yes, makes sense. If not, hmm. Better than nothing. But not reliable.

Thanks for the information.

I have used a PCAS for several years and can confirm an audible warning is pretty much essential. Unexpected traffic encounters always seem to come when you are doing something else, looking at the map, changing sqwark etc. Its very good to hear an alarm saying look out of the window!

I don't expect to be looking at traffic on screen when there is an alarm going off, but I am hoping it will give me a  greater awareness of other traffic around me before it gets close. 

With my PCAS system, there have been a couple of occasions where it has been giving out an alarm of something very close at the same height and no matter where I look I cannot visually acquire the other aircraft, even after it has moved further away.  In these circumstances I usually change height. Any direction info on screen might help at that point however at the moment there are not many ADSB aircraft out there.

It always surprises me how many very expensive aircraft are out there with no transponder or flarm.  I had a lovely view of a Bucker Jungmann / Tiger Moth  last month. I believe they are worth 100k so not sure why anyone would fly a 100k aircraft without spending 3k on a transponder and flarm.

I've emailed the CAA to see if I can go on the ADSB trail.