How much Deviation?

We have all heard about the 30-degree rule. I also talked about Ingo Renner (Ingo Renner's Discus was specially made without ailerons, he chooses to climb straight ahead.) being able to just drive his sailplanes straight on course. Then Dale Bush has his motto about following clouds...

Let's think more about the 30-degree rule because many of us try and use it religiously. This hurt me big time in Slovakia at the Pribina Cup 2009. I would like to thank Schempp-Hirth for allowing me to fly their Duo Discus XL. It is an amazing glider and was even better than the original Duo (which is amazing).

We were flying in the Tatra Mountains and cruising under a cloudstreet with two Diana 2's and we split-up. Looking across the valley towards the next turn we needed to head that way. We opted to angle across the valley taking about a 30-45 degree deviation across the valley and the course line. There was one cloud we were going to fly under on the way across (it didn't work). On the other side, we were low, it was a slow climb to reconnect with the clouds. When I mean slow I mean lots of swearing and what felt like hours and lots of searching to get out of the valley inversion.

Those 2 Diana's that we split up with before. They stayed on the first cloud street, continuing farther off course line. Later cutting across at about a 90-degree angle to course line. This minimized their distance and time in the blue. Despite this large deviation they stayed under the clouds longer making very good time. The noticeable difference was they were across with more altitude, we had already started a reasonable climb when they passed overhead by a few thousand feet. They also spent a lot less mental energy and easily connected with the clouds and kept racing. They had no gear shifting as they had not slowed down.

I held too close to the 30-degree rule while the Diana's went well off course. The Diana's were piloted by Sebastian and Lukasz with a current IGC ranking of 2 and 10 respectfully... Lessons learned were: Pay attention to top pilots and where they are going. Do not get stuck. Do not put all of your eggs in one basket. Remember these are rules of thumbs, not set in stone rules.

Banner Photo by elfo.sk

Sky Full of Heat - Sebastian Kawa is a nine-time World Champion.  In his book, Sebastian shares his secrets of success:  passion, knowledge and experience.  Learn how to use thermals, how to win and other tips from the worlds best.  He talks about safety and taking necessary risks.

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 Garret Willat holds a flight instructor rating with over 8000 hours in sailplanes. His parents have owned Sky Sailing Inc. since 1979. He started instructing the day after his 18th birthday. Since then, Garret has represented the US Junior team in 2003 and 2005. He graduated from Embry-Riddle with a bachelor's degree in Professional Aeronautics. Garret represented the US Open Class team in 2008 and 2010 and the Club Class team in 2014. Garret has won 3 US National Championships.