Safely Making it In and Out of the Turnpoint.

Navigating to the turnpoint safely is crucial. It is very easy to get caught up looking at the GPS. It displays the mileage and direction. But what it does not do is see other traffic, follow energy lines, look for thermals, read the clouds, plan your next leg...

Everyone took a different path and made thousands of decisions however many times they all end up evening out and arrive to the turnpoint as a mass of gliders. As I approach I begin to scan in all directions. It is very common to arrive to a turnpoint from a different direction then your competitors. Someone could easily be entering from your intended outbound leg which could get very exciting if you are looking at getting your 1 fix in the cylinder as they are staring inside at the GPS waiting for it to change.

I still enjoy making my own maps. Marking each turnpoint and trying to find where it is and what landmarks it is near. This helps when you are looking at cloud shadows attempting to determine which cloud makes the most sense to head to.

When you are low knowing where the turnpoint is makes it a lot easier to make good tactical decisions. If for instance you are getting into a upwind turn, and you know the Church is the turnpoint you can visualize if you can make it safely in and out of the turnpoint.

I cannot emphasis enough how easy it is to get distracted by the GPS and stare at it waiting for the numbers to count down.

While you are planning ahead and trying to figure out how to get into your turnpoint. You need to start planning your next leg. Your next leg might be easy to see while you are still a good distance from the turnpoint. Then as you get closer you need to think about where your climb is going to be and what energy lines look good.

I like when the flight computer has an audio warning when arriving and 'auto next' makes it easy to get on track for the next turnpoint. You might be heading into oncoming traffic so it is still not the time to start staring inside.

 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.