convergence

Convergence lift occurs when two air masses meet and force air upward. The winds don’t have to collide head-on. Simply, any time air piles up, it rises, often creating strong, sweet usable lift for us glider pilots!

Sea-Breeze Convergence

One of the most common sources of convergence is the sea-breeze front, for sure you've at least heard about it, used it to great advantage, or had it spoil your day...

I’m on the jet home from the Flight Challenge Cup in Prievidza, Slovakia. It’s among the first few competitions that get flown in Europe alongside the Pribina Cup, often they both receive 100-plus entries each (year).  The spring conditions at the FCC can either bring really exciting flying and fast speeds along convergence lines, super tactical weather, or just rain.  Fortunately this year, we

How do we find the best lift? Somehow or another we need to imagine or judge what the invisible world of all those air currents are doing around us and what they actually look like. How do we learn?  It’s by reading every piece of literature on the subject, talking with friends, and experiencing.  Analyze all the clues available to us, on the ground or air, then piece them all together,  followed

I always remember my father telling me, “Adam, you only lose time (and points or distance) when you stop to thermal”, he naturally gave me many other tips in my soaring career, but let's stick to this one today.  Stopping to thermal in each thermal you find, or more often than you should at the very least certainly chalks up the time, while not covering any distance at all.  It is clear to me why

Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance, SkySight is the tool that I use for this. A beautifully thought out & well-developed weather forecasting web-based application put together by Australian, Matthew Scutter. With excellent customer service & constant development, this is a one-stop-shop for your daily weather & task planning needs.

SkySight over other forecasting tools is its simplicity, ease

Searching the sky for the best lift is endlessly challenging. Decision-making is essentially a three-stage procedure. Firstly, continually analyze all relevant factors – the wind, sun, ground surface, and the shape and texture of the clouds throughout the flight. Secondly, use all your experience of ridges, convergence, wave, thunderstorms to process this information. Then try to build a mental picture