FlyBeeper
FlyBeeper FANET Vario — solar-charged FANET beacon with barometric vario

FlyBeeper FANET Vario

Solar-charged FANET beacon with a real barometric vario. See other pilots, be seen, hear every climb — wire-free.

€119.20€149 −20% Free shipping

Pre-order — first batch (~10 units), shipped in order of payment

Sale price until 15 September·Previous lowest price in the last 30 days: €149

Open the FlyBeeper app Manual
Ships from Slovenia
Cards · Apple Pay · Google Pay
Pre-order · 3 days to 4 weeks
Pilots in 20+ countries

What's in the box

FlyBeeper FANET Vario, a safety cord and a quick-start card. No cables, no mounts.

Charges from any USB-C cable

QR code on the label opens the manual — EN / RU / DE

Key features

FANET

Your position goes out to the FANET network — nearby pilots and ground stations see you, and you see them in the app.

±2 cm

Own barometric sensor — the same one as in the whole FlyBeeper line. You hear lift, not just see it.

Solar

The panel is sized to cover the active draw — in sunlight there may be no net discharge at all.

29 g

Screwless one-piece body, 29 × 92 × 16 mm, antenna inside. Nothing sticks out.

Full specifications

Radio

Long-range protocol
FANET (LoRa, 868.2 MHz)
Phone link
Bluetooth LE, NMEA stream to the app
Antenna
Internal, nothing sticks out
Positioning
Your phone's GPS via the app — no built-in GPS
FANET functions
Position broadcast (air + ground tracking), receive nearby pilots, pilot name

Vario

Sensitivity
±2 cm — same sensor as the whole FlyBeeper line
Audio
Piezo buzzer in a tuned resonator chamber (~1.1 kHz)

Power

Battery
LiPo ~900 mAh, USB-C charging
Solar panel
Full-width panel across the front face
Runtime
~20 h active without sun · ~10 %/day in real use · years on standby

Controls

Button
One — hold ~3 s to power on/off, single press for volume
LEDs
Red — charging · green — charged · blue — FANET activity

Mechanical

Body
ASA, grey, no screws
Dimensions
29 × 92 × 16 mm
Weight
29 g
Water resistance
None — keep it dry

Software

Firmware updates
Over BLE with the nRF Connect app (DFU)
Configurator
config.flybeeper.com — from the browser, nothing to install
FlyBeeper app
maps.flybeeper.com · native Android app: runs in background, base-station mode
FANET traffic in
FlyBeeper app · LK8000
Vario source for
xcTrack · SeeYou Navigator · LK8000

Works with

For full FANET use, run the FlyBeeper app (maps.flybeeper.com) — or LK8000. xcTrack and SeeYou Navigator don't support FANET yet: they read pressure over Bluetooth and use the device as a vario source.

Open the FlyBeeper app →

What pre-order means here

The first batch is about ten units

They ship in the order payments arrive. News about how the batch is going goes out in the Telegram channel.

Yours is built here

The boards come from the factory, the enclosures are printed and assembled in Slovenia. Allow up to 4 weeks from payment — usually less.

You will know your own date

I email you within a day of your order with the real date, and you can cancel for a full refund at any point before your device ships. No reason needed.

Payment is taken once, at checkout — there is no second charge later. This is a small workshop, not a warehouse: I would rather name a date with room to spare and beat it than promise a week and go quiet.

FAQ

Will gliders with FLARM see me?
No. FANET and FLARM are different protocols, and transmitting FLARM legally requires a commercial licence — we deliberately don't work around that. Other paraglider pilots on FANET see you, and so do the ground stations of the Open Glider Network. If you fly where FLARM is effectively mandatory, carry FLARM as well. Read the whole story →
Does it have its own GPS?
No. The app on your phone supplies the position; the device broadcasts it over FANET and receives other pilots. That's exactly why it barely needs charging.
Will I see FANET traffic in xcTrack?
Not yet — xcTrack and SeeYou Navigator don't support FANET. They read barometric pressure over Bluetooth and use the device as a fast vario. FANET traffic shows up in the FlyBeeper app (maps.flybeeper.com) and in LK8000.
Which app do I need?
maps.flybeeper.com — it works right in the browser, and the native Android app runs in the background with the screen off: it sends your position, shows pilots around you and can even act as a base station.
How often do I need to charge it?
Rarely. About 20 h of active use without sun and roughly 10 % of charge per day in real use — the solar panel is sized to cover the active draw, so in sunlight there may be no discharge at all. Powered off, it holds charge for years.
Is it waterproof?
No. Keep it away from water and rain.
When will it ship?
This is a pre-order: the first batch is about 10 units, shipped in order of payment. News about the batch goes out in the Telegram channel.
How much is shipping and how long does it take?
Shipping is free — it is already included in the price. Handling is 1–3 business days. Transit in the EU is typically 3–10 days; UK / CH / NO is 5–14 days.
What's the return policy?
EU consumer law: 14 days to return for any reason, refund within 14 days of receiving the device back.
How long is the warranty?
2 years per Slovenian and EU law. We repair or replace at no charge.
Will I get an invoice? What about VAT?
Yes — a PDF invoice is generated automatically and emailed to you. We're a small Slovenian business not registered for VAT (Article 94(1) ZDDV-1), so no VAT is charged.

Pre-order your FANET Vario

First batch ~10 units. Ships from Slovenia. PDF invoice by email.

€119.20€149 −20% Free shipping

Sale price until 15 September·Previous lowest price in the last 30 days: €149

Ships from Slovenia

How it's built

Long technical write-ups from the workshop blog: measurements, dead ends and the reasoning behind the design.