Training on How to Thermal a Glider / Sailplane Suggest alternate  

thanks for the comment. Next job how to center but i will have to wait for next season (I'm southern hemisphere.)

@@terrelljerry3062 Good to hear. Most things in gliding take years. With about 4000 hours solo it still took me 2 years to learn to land my open class glider sweetly. Remember Look out before you turn.

thanks have you seen the one on thermal sources. I have one on centring thermals but can not finish till summer comes and i can demonstrate

Thanks I took up flying gliders in 1980 having worked out what sport I wanted to partake after bike racing, peddle and short track speed skating. I wanted a sport that I got better at with age. Never looked back. Look at my Morning Glory flight. Why not take it up.

Thanks for the comment. Where are you flying from? Or in reality where are you not flying from?

James Cooper I’m a member at Staffordshire Gliding Club in the U.K. - I shared your video with our members on our WhatsApp group and someone mentioned about the potential to spin by over ruddering a turn at slow speed as you make your first turn with full rudder - what are your thoughts on this?

@@andrewstout9321 Fundamentally, the reason he is not close to spinning is because his speed is well above the stall. With speed close to or at the stall, an ASK23 glider will spin if you try to get the yaw string to the centre; it will not spin if the yaw string points outside the turn as recommended here. See There is a RU-vid video which demonstrates how a spin can be induced from a thermal turn with too much into turn rudder: see ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-16h7cX5d_Lw.html. However, He only has full rudder very briefly, and with the speed well above the stall and the stick is not right back.

Sorry that comment got posted by mistake while I was in the middle of editing it - but most of what I wanted to say is there. I also think he uses full rudder to roll into the turn partly because of the glider he flies. I fly a glider with powerful aileron control and would not use full rudder - I roll into the turn using co-ordinated aileron and rudder.

When conditions are rough the air speed appears to fluctuate. The issue is not that you are flying fast and slow but you are getting horizontal gusts. So the best thing to do is not to fight the speed but maintain the attitude and bank angle and let the Air Speed indicator fluctuate. I have heard instructors say that moving of the stick causes too much drag, I am not convinced. but what you describe as paddling is perhaps just chasing the unchangeable. See above. With regard to corrections I use the rudder as priority to kick into the turn, not the ailerons. It goes against the grain and theory but the rudder's secondary effect will turn the aircraft the ailerons have adverse yaw. Could i suggest that with a little bit of subtlty you aproach a good cross country pilot and have a fly with them, if they are successfull at cross country their skills at flying will probably be good. Instructors who just fly local can be good but I believe do not have the skills of good x country pilots. Keep in touch. ( looks like i will win OLC Australia this year.)

I find it so frustrating that i put straws on the club gliders, then instructors who "Know Better" take them off! I have over 3000 hours and a number of records and have won OLC in Australia, but still people don't listen. Thanks for your comment.

Instructors for the most part teach safety and circuits to get you solo. Finding XC instruction that actually happens is rare. Joy rides seem to take precedence over that. Just going to take a peek at your web page...

@@jamescooper7743 I always use the screws used for mounting the instruments in the panel, they also give me a good idea of how steep I am banking in the thermals

@@casaamaril There are many people who say that they use the screws. The problem is two fold. First the screws are in your near vision so you have to refocus to look at them and thus not look out. Two they do not shout at you. There are few people who use the straws but those that have switched are totally convinced. The sit on the horizon and shout at you.

@@jamescooper7743 thanks James, it makes sense

Thanks for getting back. I used to fly in the UK but left in 87. Quite frankly I have forgotten what the thermal structure was like, and as I flew an Olympia 1 half the time and a cobra the rest. I understand you have thermals that are not strong, but what i see with novices in Aus if they don't fly accurately they don't get the strong climbs. They get the strong sink on the edge and end up in a paddock just as quick as a pommy pilot can do in England. We may be chasing 500, 750, 1000 we have to fly very accurately. You may be chasing 100, 200 300. You have to fly very accurately. Happy Safe flying

Thanks for the comment. It would take ages to go into how to center the thermal in the first turn and then maintain it. Perhaps I should do that one day. But the purpose of the video is purely to inform the pilot how to make the turn. Even though it is basic stuff it appears to be something that is missed out in training. There appears to be an assumption that pilots can make that first turn correctly. Anyway a few others have made the suggestion how to find the core and keep it. Perhaps I will try to put something together. Thanks

The reason for a bit extra speed is to give maneuverability. So as the thermal gets smoother and you have no need to have that extra speed. I dont know where you are from and what your thermals are like. but early morning in Western Australia the thermals are tight and rough. Have speed. Late in the evening they are week but large and smooth. bring the speed back and even flatten out the bank a few degrees. Safe Flying James

When you're flying on a blue sky day, and you're out there a long way from home, you;re beginning to get lower than you want to be, don't know exactly where the next thermal is coming from, even if you've identied some possibilities......, yeah, I'd be going at minimum sink.

The best and easiest way is to get a piece of paper, A4 is good. Fold it diagonally top edge against side edge, make a nice crease and then open the paper back out again. Now stand in front of the glider, straws approximately in place. align the crease in the paper with the fin, and adjust the straw to the edge. You can get it right within a few degrees. Remember it is good to keep 45° but if you are a degree or two out it does not matter. What matters is that the bank is constant all the way round.

@@jamescooper7743 wow! Above and beyond with that quick and thoughtful reply! Thanks a million.

@@StickandGlider you will have to wait a bit longer to get the how to core a thermal. I'm thinking about it at least. but i have to wait for summer

There are two things that will help you progress. I study and knowing what to look for. Clearly you are doing this. I read a Piggott book before I sat in a glider and 7 other books shortly after I was Solo. The other thing is practice, after about 1000 hours I was beginning to get the idea of things. Yes sometimes I just feel that the thermal is over there and I don't know why. Practice I guess. There is a third. Speak to those who know. With all respect that is not always instructors. Check out the good pilots who prove themselves by their results. Most are happy to pass on their info. Sap it up like a sponge. I should have another RU-vid later this year on thermalling and sources.

It is interesting sometimes when i am thermalling i move across to somewhere just because it feels right and I have little idea why. However the Gliding Federation of Australia have just put into place a training system where all instructors and coaches teach exactly the same way, including patter. I believe that they have done a very good job and you can get their thermalling technique on line doc.glidingaustralia.org/index.php?option=com_docman&view=tree&slug=training-manual-part-2&Itemid=101 this is for novices and is based on "Not Loosing the thermal" which is not necessarily "Getting the core" Have a look at the pilot guide. There is one additional comment. If there is a reasonable amount of wind there will be thermal bubbles and very narrow streets that lead to the thermal. You can not thermal in the streets as I guess they are about 30 m wide. have a look at my web page if you have not already done so there www.jamescooper.com.au/Gliding/gliding.htm There are a number of articles there that may be of interest

@@jamescooper7743 thank you very much for your detailed response. I read your article. Later today I'll read the Australian manual. I'm from Israel and we're in lock down now due to COVID-19. Hopefully, I'll be able to return soaring soon.

Sorry it was a belated reply, I only just got your request a few days ago. I did however forget to mention that there is a very good set of books by G Dale The Soaring Engine. Worth a read

From memory the flight was early in the morning, cloud base may be 4,500 ft so if I gained 2500 at that time of the day I would have been lucky, but it was a few years ago and although I can remember many flights the specifics not. Where are you flying from?

Brilliant, idea I never thought of that one. Don't tell anyone else. The big problem is that in Australia once you get a hay stack fire the fire spreads very fast, the visibility reduces and you can't see the person you are following, for the smoke. We will have to find a way around that. But let's work together on this one.

That is very well said. Next time I do a modification the the post I will be sure I do.

I have changed the video now to include your comment

nooooo

As you can see below I am not an instructor. Just a coach. What I have seen is that the older we get the slower we are at learning, but if we keep learning and keep fit we learn better. I am leaning the didgeridoo! Bottom line is you may or may not go solo, you may or may not go cross country by yourself, you may or may not get a 300 or 750k flight. But you don't achieve these you can fly with more experienced pilots and enjoy this great sport of Gliding.

@@jamescooper7743 could you please put up a video on playing the didj? I have no doubt it will be clear, to the point, and a very effective learning tool. Thank you.

@@chrishamilton4999 I was trying to work out how you knew I played the Didge. But I guess you don't I will consider but I have to be carful that I don't infringe copyright. No you don't want to hear my playing.

@@chrishamilton4999 Very limiting the ability to change a video that has been posted, but I have added a didge to my morning glory video, the shorter one. All a big learning curve. I guess once I have done 1000 hours posting RU-vids they should be ok!