CLICK ON THE SPOT LOGO TO THE LEFT TO TRACK MY WALK ABOUT.

These are all the XC Open pilots who are using SPOT.  www.xc-open.org SPOT page

The tracks are cleared every 7 days, so no long term history available.

SPOT WEBSITE 

Flying cross country has its risks and one of my concerns has always been:  What if I have an accident, there is no cell phone reception and no-one knows where I am, or that I am even missing.  How do I get an emergency message out?

I tried a system here in South Africa - GEOTAB's GO Patrol, but there were so many problems with it before I even got into the air, that I sent it back with a list of basic issues attached. 

SPOT has been thoroughly tested by paragliding pilot and IT wizard Joerg Ewald for use in Paragliding World Cup events.  The tests were detailed and, at the time, he found that the system required further improvement before he could recommend its use in competition flying.  His report linked below.

Nonetheless, for lack of a better alternative, the XC Open World Series selected a handful of pilots to do further testing of SPOT in Australia.  To this end, Hans, one of the organisers, has kindly made one of the units available for Flygirl to use and report back on.  Thanks Hans :-)

SPOT turned out to be absolutley perfect for the XC-Open World Series.  Here is the link to the competition series SPOT page . Andreas Rieck made a few program additions which make retrieve a simple and hassle free experience.  SUCCESS!!!

SPOT does not function in South Africa and unlikely in the new future.  We are looking for an alternative.

Dear XC-Open Pilots,

Joerg Ewald from Switzerland has just sent me this document in the attachment regarding the tests he conducted with the SPOT messenger device. Please read it and make your own conclusion.

It’s probably a good idea to have your radios as far away from the SPOT (and GPS/Vario) as possible.Joerg Ewald came to the summary, as per August 2008, that he cannot recommend the use of SPOT in the Paragliding World Cup yet.

His document however is from August this year, it has not been updated after that, so it may not cover the latest changes of the SPOT messenger device. A group of pilots will do their own tests with the SPOT messenger nevertheless when flying in the Manilla XC-Open. It’s good to be aware of the problems, that Joerg found.

Best Regards

Hans Bausenwein

www.xcopen.org