DYNAMIC NETTO VARIOMETER

Abstract

Today's soaring variometers are not much better than the ones made a decade ago. The measuring and displaying of the vertical air movement (and/or change in glider's total energy) hasn't seen a major improvement since the introduction of the audio signal. The same can be said about the speed command function. The most a pilot can expect is a choice between total energy, static netto, and classic theory speed-to-fly reading. Even the variometer user interface has remained the same - an analog gauge complemented by an audio signal. Of course the accuracy and reliability of variometers has improved substantially overthe last decade. Good temperature and altitude compensations are now standard, and the problem of zero drift seems to have vanished. What can we expect from the future developments in the variometer and speed command functions?