soaring

Your morning's flight may have been nothing more than a short circuit, only a few brief minutes aloft, but it carries a significance far greater than its duration. In gliding, it's easy to celebrate the epic cross-country adventures, the record-breaking flights, and the blue-sky saves. Yet some of the most important progress happens in quieter moments - those modest launches that remind us why we keep

This is the second part of a two-part article on the mental aspects of cross-country flying. In the first article, we talked about the importance of self-image and how to break through the limitations of a negative or restricting self-image. In this second part, we will talk about the optimum mental state that we want during flight and the things that upset that state (mostly fear and distraction)

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