Dartmoor Gliding News-Twin Astir gets Flarm-Friday 19th August 2022

Clearly some of us can’t get up to the club often enough.  So on Friday Phil Hardwick, Ged Nevisky, and me convened for an installation project on behalf of the Twin Astir syndicate.

Encouraged by the Club’s adoption of Electronic Conspicuity in the form of FLARM (Ed: An anti-collision waning system) the Twin Astir syndicate have invested in an LX PowerFlarm Eagle.  This is the latest generation of FLARM with better range and more modern facilities (Ed: More of that later).

We had obviously chosen the best flying day of the week to be sat in the ground at the hangar apron.  Phil and I extricated the Twin Astir from its T-Hangar at the east end and brought it to the apron in front of the hangar.  Meanwhile Ged set about restocking the tea boat supplies and more importantly getting the kettle on.

Initially we were hampered by small outbreaks of drizzle.  But, once the seats were out we could see the scope of the problem and make some initial location decisions.  There was a secondary task of getting the Garmin GPS wired up to the glider batteries.

Many hands make light work as the seats come out

An inspection revealed redundant cabling between the front and rear seats and a redundant switch on both the front and rear panes which could be reused.

For safety’s sake the FLARM should always be on (i.e. wired through the master switch) so there was no need for a separate switch that could be overlooked during the pre-flight checks.  This is especially important in a syndicate glider that has multiple users.  However, a panel-mounted fuse for both the FLARM and Garmin GPS would be required.  A suitable one was selected and installed neatly alongside the other fused circuits that reside under the front instrument shroud.

The LX PowerFlarm display was conveniently mounted on a handy panel blank with fresh machine screws and nyloc nuts on the panel blank.

The switch in the rear panel was removed and disconnected allowing some chunky domestic (!) cabling to be used to supply power from the front seat instrument panel to the FLARM unit itself, which would be mounted under the rear instrument shroud.  That meant the long FLARM lead needed to be led forward under the front seat to supply power and data to the front FLARM display.

Installation, once all the spare cabling had been identified was reasonably straightforward.  Selection of where to put the UHF FLARM antenna (the same style as the club ones) and the GPS antenna which was confusing labelled as a GLONASS antenna (Ed: Slava Ukraini) was made.  There was a delay when I had to rewire and make good one of the battery connecting cables that had truly seen better days.  Ged was conscripted, as he had the smallest hands, to help bolt the PowerFLARM unit in the rear instrument space (Ed: It is very tiny.  LX claim that PowerFLARM Eagle is the smallest FLARM device on the market). 

The size of a matchbox (Ed: Remember those?).  Dimensions: 68 x 50 x 23 mm. Weight: 76 g.  Consumption: 120 mA @ 12 Volts.

Everything was checked and doubled checked.

I attached my USB stick which had the latest FLARM Firmware version and a config.sys file that I had previously set up for G-DDSL.  Then the moment of truth.  Power on.  No smoke seen (Ed: that’s a classic car joke applicable to Lucas and not apposite here with modern electronics!)  The FLARM came to life.  Both displays went through their checks.  GPS lock was achieved very quickly (Ed: So LX had already loaded the unit with the latest Firmware) and the unit started transmitting.

The rear cockpit instrument panel with the new LX PowerFLARM display (Ed: Same as the club gliders) high in the pilot’s sightline.

I was happy that the unit was operating correctly and I didn’t need to get my glider out and switch its FLARM on to prove it.

First Phil, and then Ged, made use of the Eagle features which means that the FLARM has its own WiFi SSID, and also Bluetooth.  Using the password they logged in (Ed: Separately I hope) and viewed the options.  A key one is being able to download flights without using a USB stick which is a good thing as the FLARM unit is well and truly buried under the rear seat instrument shroud.  Once logged in on their smartphones they reported the status of the FLARM and that all was working correctly.  

Like most of modern electronics the manual doesn’t cover much but lets the users discover its capabilities for themselves.  The PowerFLARM is a development of the FLARM system and claims triple the detection and reception range (Ed: I think other pilots saw that on the next day.  Shades of the “Dark Star” warning the “rebels” to keep away from the “all conquering and invincible” Twin Astir).

Before we got to this stage the Garmin GPS was fused and separately switched from the glider’s batteries.  I got my Dymo tape machine and all the relevant switched were clearly labelled.

After a successful day G-DDSL returns to its T-Hangar (Ed: The tea boat offers a reward (a chocolate bar) for the first pre-solo pilot to identify the glaring Daily Inspection failure point in this photo)

For those who want to know more about FLARM; what it can do for you and how it works there is a PowerPoint presentation available in the club house or I can forward it to you by email.  It’s only 11 slides and gives a simple explanation.  Or ask a privateer how their FLARM works (Ed: By my count we have four FLARMS fitted to club gliders, with two more to fit, and now eight private gliders so fitted).

Incidentally, if you want to be part of the Twin Astir fun there is a syndicate share for sale.  See the notice in the club house or ask one of the syndicate members.

Gavin Short