Sunday was not very promising: sunny, but no apprent convection. So I took a tow to 3000, boxed the wake by myself for the first time on the way up (without killing myself and the tow pilot, LOL)... figured I'd get off and just enjoy a leisurely "sleigh ride" back to the field.
But I caught some midday thermals off the usual ground sources, and got to 3500 eventually, after sinking initially to 2500. Fell back down to 2000, but grabbed another ride up to 3000. Total time including the tow was about an hour- so over 50 minutes aloft after release. Made a good approach and landing in a light breeze right down the runway. It felt great to accomplish this- I've been frustrated by my inability ,so far,to find and really work thermals. It's an addictive high, trading and gaining altitude... kinda like a gambler's high. 

Made another hop to 2000, but the sky had :shut down" by then, so it was just a sleigh ride. But still fun... beautiful vis. up there Sunday.

Brett_Henderson wrote on Sep 22^nd, 2009 at 6:41pm:
For a Cherokee pilot you're sounding quite lyrical - I like it  .

Sounds lovely, Rotty - you're making me homesick. I assume you're still in the 2-33? If so, don't be frustrated by your 'lack of ability' to work thermals - a glasship it ain't. Once you do get into gliders that don't look like they should be dropping troops behind Normandy beaches, you'll find hunting and grabbing comes a lot easier. (Duh - obvious, of course; just adding my own yammer in.  )

Brett: You know, I've never made a secret of the fact that I think all pilots should start in gliders and work their way into SEPs once the basics of flight have been learned - just an opinion. However; a lot of experienced pilots are finding that taking a summer gliding course can help basic pilotage immensely; there are a lot of pro courses out there, you might look into it; it's quite reasonable. And yes - it's every bit as magical as it looks.

Mobius: Tough question. Oh, there are the standard answers; they're available in FSX's Help section. You look for patches on the ground that absorb the sun's heat - dark patches on the ground like fallow fields, asphalt, etc. If overflight is permitted, major shopping centers are major thermal sources. Water OTOH is a lift-sink; in other words flying over a large lake (for instance) would be futile - no lift to be found.

The reason it's a difficult question is because the dynamics of lift (referring to rising air here; not a wing's lift) is insanely complex and finding it is much more an art than a science. Depending on your environment, you'll learn to identify some specific types of lift over others. For example; I'm pretty good at catching thermals, but pretty awful at finding ridges and I've never tried hunting lennies; since I learned to fly on the wide-open  expanses of southern Ontario. A sailplane pilot from Alberta might well be a phenomenal ridge flier, but be a total muggins at thermals. Now - flying thermals; I rarely wasted time looking for spots on the ground. I'd watch clouds and birds; but more often than not would catch my cues from the way the Astir flew. In other words, I'd see a nice big puffy round-ish cumulus (which often are 'caps' of thermals) close to my direction of flight and aim for it. As the sailplane flew along and a wing twitched and rose slightly; I knew I was skimming a thermal strong enough to be worth catching.  A quick 270 deg. turn away from the lifting wing would - hopefully - bring me right into the heart of the lift. And then the game really starts - is the lift you've got the entire strength of the thermal or are you still too far out? Will breaking your turn and looking again pay off or send you into sink? It's a guessing game - and in the world of competitive soaring, the ones who win are the ones who guess right most often.

I agree that gliding should be an intregal, first step in pilot training. I just know that it's not realistic. There aren't enough facilities.. and it's even more weather sensitive than powered training. And it's not a simple.. "OK, lets go log a few hours" type of flying. Regular flight schools would be starving, waiting on new pilots to filter through the gliding bottle-neck... because you really couldn't expect a new pilot to go back and forth... like glide when he can, and mix in regular training.

For me, it would be more a novelty. I've no doubt I would learn something, but the logistics involved would discourage me. Flying is more of a chore now, than a recreation. The idea of climbing into an airplane, just for the sake of flying doesn't appeal to me. Flight-planning, pre-flight, and doing the ATC dance is work.. not fun.

I'd for sure jump at a chance to do it and experience it, but I wouldn't enjoy doing it as any sort of planned routine.

Staiduk wrote on Nov 3^rd, 2009 at 4:43pm:



Hard to say yet, as the only ASEL flying I've done since starting gliders has been from the back seat of tandems. And no landings... that's one phase of flight where any difference would be very apparent.

Except for the one landing last summer... it was pretty bad, but it was a Cherokee Six- not what I'm used to. 


But I believe  that because of the vastly different handling characteristics of props and most gliders, basic stick'n'rudder skills don't improve so much as energy management, strategy, etc. That, and I guess basic "feel": flying the wing as opposed to the engine and instruments.  If and when I get back into flying ASELs solo, I'm sure I will mostly just be rusty as hell.

Right now I'm trying to prep for the PP-G check ride- last weekend I made a few hops with the altimeter and ASI covered up, and was surprised at how badly I did judging my altitude. We got off at 1000 the first time, about 1 mile north of the field, and I thought we were at 1500 at least. Needless to say, I was low entering the pattern... 
Next two were better, even made a good solo landing in a tricky crosswind, but overall I was not quite up to snuff.

I'll have to do that again this weekend until I nail it- that's a very important part of the PP-G test standards (making an approach and landing without ASI or altimeter).