Monthly Archives: September 2016

Remember our clouds from last week? The three clouds to the left and a larger one to the right. Rather than deciding early and head towards one on a long glide. Split the difference and head for the middle. As you get closer you might be able to make a more informed decision with less deviation.

If you are Ingo Renner (think Chuck Norris jokes) you don't have to deviate as the thermals will

Last week you practiced on the ground looking at clouds and planning a route. There are a lot of decisions and limited flying hours. You may have noticed a few wisps which turned into the correct decision 10min later. The cloud street to the right looked better at the time, but the one on the left was better 10min later. Use this knowledge in the air to make better decisions.

Pick a target

Clouds lie, sometimes they are honest, some days they will get you home and others they will put you in a field. The cloud was formed by some kind of rising air, however, this could have been a bubble so small you pass underneath it. The little wisp could be marking a 9knt thermal or 5 minutes ago it was 2knts. It is a game of odds, increase your odds with small deviations and go under a lot of them.

In a stressful or out of the ordinary situation you are going to do what you have been practicing and will probably use muscle memory. I will highlight a few of my pet peeves.

Get out of the glider in the order you bailout. Have you watched some pilots practice each time they climb out? They open the canopy, undo their belts, climb out and reach for the D ring. These pilots are serious about

In open class I use the motto "To thermal is to admit defeat".

There are some great books that explain in detail the many techniques used for centering. My general technique is based on the Huth Method where you tighten the bank angle in the surge of the lift. No matter the technique it is about getting centered quickly and staying there. Stay in the core of the thermal, my bank angle motto