center thermal
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June 30, 2022
Thermals are certainly strange creatures. One day they can be big, round, and smooth, the next they’ll be tight with multiple cores, the next day, there will be sink in the area that was constantly lifting the day before! This can bring frustration, but also lots of satisfaction when we start to build up our experience and start to be able to harness mother natures energy to our advantage.
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October 21, 2021
Big and high cumulus days are super fun, especially when all the ducks line up. That’s the trick, to figure out the day's pattern so that they (ducks) do, as it is on every day and flight. However, when we fly under large cumulus clouds, it requires a different tact at the day. Instead of looking down, we must look up, this is to get all available cues from the clouds ahead. The
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August 06, 2020
So you've found your cloud – but what's the best way to use it?
Centering thermals efficiently, and climbing quickly, are probably the most fundamental skills you need to soar successfully. Even a small improvement in your technique could easily mean a few hundred feet in every thermal – or thousands of feet in a typical cross-country flight. Come to the end of the day, this might even
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April 25, 2019
Shallowing
While focusing on centering I find students shallowing out to a nearly flat bank angle. If you have been working on centering it is probably not there. Sometimes there is a horizontal shift in the thermal but rarely do I find nearing the top of the thermal to shallow to a 5-degree bank angle and circle around in the sink to be of any benefit.
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January 17, 2019
Last Week we looked at the weather forecast. Now to determine the best task for the day. This will depend on the weather, your schedule, your mood. However like any athlete you cannot take the easiest practice. You still have to have a plan to improve yourself. You improve by pushing yourself. If you never land out, you are not pushing hard enough. If you land out often, you are probably pushing too
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October 20, 2016
Last week we discussed a technique to find a missed thermal. You thought you would be the thermal master by not falling-out on your next tow. Beware, sometimes when you turn around to find the thermal, it's really gone. Why? It's time to learn about the bubble thermal.
Your friend who turned while you proceeded for a few more seconds is now climbing well behind you. You turn around