In-Flight Performance Index

How good is your path through the air? Look at your Performance Index. We have talked about using SeeYou to analyze your flight, however, you do not have to wait until you land to know. Below are some instruments and settings to help you easily analyze your in-flight progress.

B600/800

Many flight computers display that information in different forms. But few have it as simply displayed as the B600/800.  The Borgelt B600/800 with a GCD displays the Performance Index. It is displayed as a percentage of how well you have done vs the polar. The performance index starts from your last thermal so it is displaying each glide between thermals. This information is most useful between thermals, not the last 10 seconds. Am I doing better or worse than the polar? That’s what it will tell you.

Less Math

I use this same logic in my headings. It doesn't matter which heading I am on nor do I care which heading the turnpoint is. I just want to know how much to turn. So I would have “Left 30 degrees” displayed vs “Tracking 350” and “bearing 320”. I try to eliminate the math I need to do.

Current L/D

Other flight computers will display your current L/D, but it is changing a lot, sometimes it is hard to tell what the average is. You have to remember you are cruising above best L/D so it might say 20:1 and that is what you should be getting at that speed. Hence the advantage of the PI from Borgelt.

SeeYou/LX

We could use that L/D display along with the required L/D to airports as an easy way to figure out your glide to alternate airports. When I started with SeeYou mobile now an Oudie 2, that was the way were advised to use it. Have the label shows the required L/D, it would also change colors from green to yellow to red, then the color would go away as you lost it on glide.
You could compare the current L/D with the MC L/D nav box, but again the numbers change quickly and you have to some mental math.

Netto

Another option is having netto displayed. I have talked about this before in previous articles, but this is more of an instantaneous readout, some flight computers display an average, or you can view how you have done over the last hour. This will give you an idea if you are in rising air or sinking air but mostly used to sense out the thermals. It won’t really help in the long run to determine how good you did.

Too much information

Remember does this information I am looking for in the cockpit make me fly faster? Will looking inside vs outside make me fly faster? I try not to worry too much about the flight because there is always someone doing it better than me.

Banner Photo by Sophie Mahieu

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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.