Flares are notoriously difficult to observe. A wealth of instrumental advances have enriched the data available for the analysis of flares during the last solar cycle. IRIS has provided unprecedented coverage of flares in the EUV and optical range, facilitating diagnostics of the solar chromosphere and leading to the first space-based detection of Balmer continuum enhancement in the solar flare of March 29 2014. The influence of lines on such emission has recently been highlighted as problematic. SDO has provided images of the transition region and coronal signatures, allowing evaluation of the models of evaporation processes. Ground-based instruments such as SST and BBSO have captured Doppler shifts in chromospheric lines in the impulsive phase of solar flares, allowing us to probe the hydrodynamic and kinetic models of flaring events, which can explain some of these features.
In this work we discuss obstacles between flare observations and models applied for their analysis, using some examples of the past and present observations. These include (1) The evaluation of the role of electron beams in flare onsets and their dynamics from coronal to photospheric levels, depending on the resolution abilities of various instruments (2) Interpretation of velocities of the plasma evaporation into the corona (3) Large Doppler red shifts of H-alpha line profiles observed in the 1980’s and 1990’s and the consequences for understanding of physics of flares imposed by usage of narrow wavelength filters in modern instruments. Trends in recent instrumentation, and opportunities for collaboration and cooperation in future projects are appraised.