ORIGINAL: Silent-AV8R
ORIGINAL: MikeL
This reminds me of 5 or so years ago when 2.4ghz was on the verge of going mainstream. ''I can't imagine needing that.'' ''I don't see the purpose.'' ''I've been flying since 1962 and...'' ''If you can't be disciplined enough to...'' and so on and so forth. Same arguments and stiff stances, with likely some of the same people making them. Convenience, utility, and market forces will work the same way this time as last time.
I do not see them as the same thing. 2.4 SS is probably the best thing to happen to this hobby since servo reversing! It tangibly increased safety, eliminated the possibilities of being shot down and have significantly reduced losses due to interference. That is far different from knowing my RX pack voltage, exhaust gas temperature or in flight rpm.
Keep in mind that you can have in flight voltage and altitude and other parameters right now using the Eagle Tree and other systems. But I do not see people saying that it is an absolute must have. Now if the radio makers can include that feature at a reasonable cost, then more people may find it useful. But let's look 2 years down the road and see how many people are still using it on a regular basis.
Telemetry is a new gadget that is a value added feature, it is not an absolute requirement.
It already is offered at a reasonable price. Take the Hitec Aurora 9 for example. I am sure that Futaba will follow.