JAJ
The FLARM Take up numbers in the gliding community are are a bit uncertain as a lot of people have their own personal portable FLARM units that they velcro to the glare shield when they fly, the only thing that is sure is that there are more FLARM units in operation than are fitted permantly fitted to gliders.
It is my understanding that the VGS fleet is currently looking at POWER FLARM, this also picks up ADS-B making it much more useful and I suspect that this is the system that has been proposed for the Tucano fleet.
The UK ATC provider NATS and the CAA are currently starting an experiment with light aircraft to trial light weight ADS-B system that is reliable and low cost, the CAA is not charging fees for minor modifications to fit this equipment being used in this experiment.
Unfortunately this trial can only be carried out on Annex 2 aircraft and home builds this in stark contrast EASA demands an STC to fit this equipment to Annex 1 aircraft, for a new type this will cost £15 K just for the paperwork.
The difference in attitude to fitting collision avoidance equipment between EASA and the UK CAA / NATS is stark to the point of being almost criminal on the part of EASA, while this is not strictly a Military Aviation problem it becomes one when a military aircraft hits an ADS-B equipped aircraft that has not had the system enabled because the owner can't afford the £15 K for the EASA paperwork.
Last edited by A and C; 1st Feb 2015 at 18:33.