Newer FLIR... why so complicated.

Pascal, may I ask what type of FLIR it is. It must have at least an USB port for tests and software upload. I will get my chief on that subject and will come back with possible answers. A system and / or network layout would also help.

the YF community must be able to find a solution!

Nope, never done that from the driver's seat. But I've been onboard jetliners in several hairy approaches, and even if I don't think the pilots were relying on any HUDs, I'm still alive.
Which brings me back to how most commercial captains seem to handle their workplaces (which often are nowhere near as sophisticated as some private ones) pretty well, all considered.

Back to boats, yeah, I'm not saying that state of the art electronics are just gimmicks.
And I see Pascal point on southern FL waterways traffic and the FLIR usefulness in those conditions.
But as a matter of fact, the cost of the dashboard in the photo that you previously posted is certainly above whan many folks spent for their whole boats.
And some of these folks went transat or even RTW with them, and came back to tell the story.
As opposed to some gin palaces with a p/house filled with everything but the kitchen sink, whose main use is as sunbathing platforms in the gulf of St.Tropez, Portofino, or wherever...

I'm not saying it's your case, of course - just a general reasoning!

Curious what airframe you own HTMO9?

A Dassault Falcon 8x, an Airbus ACJ-319 neo and some smaller ones but they do not have HUD and FLIR in front of both cockpit seats. I know their final speed is not 150 Kts (its about 106 to 110 KIAS depending on landing weight) but I have flown much faster planes during my active duty as an Air Force Jet Pilot and later during my time as an officer of the Air Force Reserve. The highest final speed had the F-104 G during a mid flap or even no flap approach (app. up to 225 Kts depending on config and remaining fuel), which was a major emergency, because the Boundary layer control was not available due to the flap/slat position. But this old flying machines had no fancy cockpit electronics, just electrics of the late fifties. Sometimes after Your first turn out of traffic, You could see Your Litton LN-3 INS position disappear on the horizon . And my Airbus H-145 helicopter, I fly during night VFR flights with night vision goggles. But after 2 hours of night flying with that goggles, I can't sleep after that, at least half of the night. Our bigger commercial cargo planes, I am not allowed to fly anymore due to age, because I am 68 years old.



P.S. Pascal, I have just talked on the phone to my chief engineer down in Palma about Your problem. His first idea was, that the default IP adress that came with the M232, if still being used, should be changed. I will come back ASAP with better answers.

HTM09 said, “

FLIR is a great thing to have, both on Your boat and in Your plane. Once You get used to, You do not want to miss it anymore. I have two FLIR M 500 on my full displacement yacht, one forward and one aft of the mast / exhaust stack. The gyro-stabilized FLIR M 500 cooled thermal camera is the most technologically-advanced thermal camera available on the civil market. Designed around a cryogenically-cooled 640 x 512 pixel Mid Wave Infrared (MWIR) thermal sensor, the FLIR M 500 works at both short and ultra-long range target detection and identification.”

Want to hear something funny? My 12 years experience with FLIR on Gulfstreams leads me to conclude FLIR is only good for finding clouds (where the bumps live) at night. I have never found a runway, apart from in the simulator, with that expensive piece of equipment. Never found a runway which I would have otherwise not found, that is.
I suspect it is a great thing to have on a yacht, however.

And new cars/trucks/cell phones/TVs etc. Making anything "talk" to another thing (or brand) has become a nightmare.

Flying Golfer, You must have had some older generation FLIR in Your Gulfstreams. Also I am not allowed to fly my 8x and our other big planes as a PIC anymore (due to my age of 68 years and the silly EASA license regulations), I am still sitting sometimes in the co-pilots seat during approaches and I can assure You, my Falcon Eye FLIR can see runways through pretty thick fog. Through big CB`s of course not. But cryogenically-cooled FLIR systems have much better performance today.

The big advantage of a modern FLIR on a Ship, yacht or boat is the multi-sensor capability and the possible interconnection / correlation between those sensors, i.e. RADAR, coupled and / or integrated search lights.

Navigation during night or bad visibility in tight quarters is much safer and less stressful for the operator with this navigation aids. I just like to give my pilots, my skipper and his crew the best equipment available on the market for our safe voyage. My whole family and my own butt may be on board . And the M500 really is the best available on the market. The more advanced types are ridiculously more expensive.

And Pascal, my chief has talked to the FLIR guys. They say, if it is not the default IP adress, still being used, it must be a failure in the network control box or just an incompatibility of equipment (typical answer, means You should only buy our stuff).

HTM09, you are correct. Older gen (2007) stuff. I am glad the newer equipment is better. I had been wondering.

In Germany, the F-104 G was called the widowmaker. More than 220 fellow pilots were killed by this aircraft, not counting the pilots from the Netherland and Belgium Air Force. I had to attend far to many official funeral services and the later private funerals at there home towns. I lost my best friend in Nörvenich. He crashed during the final approach into Nörvenich. His widow and his young son lived for almost one year in my house until she was mentally stable enough to live on her own again.

Your father must have been one of the custodians for the special weapons in the QRA at Nörvenich. I was lucky enough, that i never had to eject and I never had to sit QRA on a Nuke. As a Navy F-104 pilot, we only had to sink ships. For that purpose we did not need such heavy weapons. A B-61 is a little overkill for an Russian destroyer.

And later as a fighter pilot on the F-4F, we could at least fly during our quick reaction alert duties. We were launched mostly twice by the air defence center during the alert shift.

Below the F-104 G Cockpit


So far for advanced modern fighter cockpits and electronic multifunction displays. But still, I loved every flying hour in it.

The old men and their flying machines .

Ug, It's not a 172..
Get dizzy studying the stuff.

God bless all pilots.

I have been to the barracks of Kerpen far to often. Nörvenich is located in an area with very frequent nice weather, especially during autum and winter. Therefore Nörvenich was very often the only available weather alternate for most fighter wings in northern Germany. If the weather sucked in during night, You could sometimes find half of the NATO jet flyers at the bar in the officers mess at Kerpen after one of those typiclal weather diversions during night flying. The cross servicing guys at Nörvenich never went out of practice.

On the FLIR M 500 You have not only the excellent cooled IR sensor with the smallest Delta T window resolution of all civil available IR sensors, it also has a coupled high power beam light, a visual camera and a low light visual camera. The IR sensor is gyro stabilized, has 14x zoom and can dedect other boats up to a distance of 8,3 NM.

But one has to be aware of the physical limitations of any IR detection system. IR thermal radiation in its specific wave length can not look through and can not be seen through heavy rain (basically water droplets greater than its wave length) and it gets pretty much blind, when looking directly into a bigger heat source like the sun or hot exhausts. That why You see a big black plume around the ships exhausts.

On IR seekers like the good old Sidewinder missile seeker head it is different, her sensor is looking for a specific heat window, in order to differentiate jet exhaust from flares.

But even a hand held IR monocular, especially the ones with a combined low light and IR sensor can be of great help on a boat during night or on a foggy day.

But identifying a target on Your radar, corolate it with Your precise MAO display and visual ID with your multi sensor, stabilized IR platform, is really a great thing to have.

May be it is my habbit from my flying training but I have my bridge displays, when I am doing bridge duties (yes, I am still doing that from time to time) on my yacht, setup in the following way: Center screen course up with the ECDISC map display as the primary information, RADAR picture overlayed if needed or during night or low visibility and AIS info with track tracer also. Screen to the left Radar with AIS info and IR overlay on stby, this screen is also used for visual ID of a target with the other sensors. Screen to the right map only, may be north up for better reading (My old analog brain is fading, north up charts may be of help for the old man.

The other screens are used for enviromental and engine data or as needed by other bridge personel. I specially love to track the shadow with the second RADAR and couple bearing and distance to the shadow with the autopilot. Means automatic formation position hold with the always leading shadow, offset to starboard. His return is so big, even the most badly mistuned RADAR can find and track him. The only thing missing is auto throttle but speed changes on boats are not so dramatic.

As Your loved onces my be on board and as You are responsible for Your crew and guests, just give Your crew the best equipment available. State of the art stabilized IR sensors truly belong to this type of equipment.

Just my 2 (Euro) cents

Doesn't the IP camera also have an additional RJ45 port on the camera? Seems to me that it can be both IP and hardwired, better just hardwired. Mine aren't IP, but I had no issue tapping into the output with a splitter and sharing the output with a non-nav system, secondary displays.

Pascal. What equipment are you integrating FLIR with? With Furuno, we never speak with FLIR but just with Furuno for guidance.

I have each unit on its own dedicated breaker at the helms. Often times I have to shut off the FLIR and restart it to wake it up and bring it back on line properly. I bought a joystick for each helm, but I never use them. I control the camera with the screen...and often it's a little cranky in response. That all being said, I love having them aboard, both a stabilized HD as well as thermal.