Soaring and Cross Country Flying Presentation to Black Mountains Gliding Club

Andy Davis 21st March 2015

Introduction

Assumptions – basic knowledge of thermalling, Macready, navigation, airspace and gadgets

PART 1 - Thermal Soaring - expanding on John Clark’s and Mike Tomlinson’s 2013 presentation

PART 2 - General Cross Country Flying…..

• Preparation

• Top Tips and Common Errors

• Interactive Q&A

Part 1 - Thermal Soaring

• Lookout

• Handling

• Location

• Centring

• Selection

• Decision Making

LOOKOUT

• FLARM is not a substitute for good lookout

• LOOK BEFORE TURNING by turning your head BEFORE moving the stick – to the SIDE and UP

• TRIM

• Maintain a regular lookout while turning – scan horizon both into turn and ahead

• LOOK OUTSIDE THE TURN before STRAIGHTENING / RECENTRING

• LOOK OUTSIDE THE TURN AND BELOW BEFORE LEAVING

HANDLING

• 30 deg bank minimum

• Consistent 40 – 45 deg bank desirable

• ATTITUDE, TRIM, AIRSPEED, ATTITUDE

• SENSES – FEEL, HEAR, OBSERVE – LOOK OUT • SPEED APPROPRIATE

• CIRCLE BOTH WAYS

LOCATION

• Cloud, Sun, Wind, Surface, Slope, Shadow, Convergence, Birds, Smoke, Wave, Ridge etc

• Mental Model

• Cloud Recognition

• Trigger Points

• Walk in the woods

• Observation

• Fly sensitively

Cloud Recognition

Learning Point – Observe Both Tops and Base. Tops = History? Base = Now

Classic Cumulus Lifecycle

Cumulus – Base Detail

Look Hard for Step or Moving Tendrils

Don’t confuse spread-out “ruff” with step

Are Thermals Vertical ?

Or Leaning with the wind?

Airmass Models

Unstable Airmass / Long Lived Thermals

• Considerable thermal depth

• Thermal column is substantially vertical

• Long lived regenerating clouds

• Polar Air (W, NW, N, NE winds)

Stable Airmass / Short Lived Cumulus

• Shallow or bubbly gusty thermals

• No lift just below a climbing glider

• Clouds are short lived and ever changing

• Fly under fantastic looking clouds – no lift

• Equitorial air (SW, S, SE, E winds)

Long Lived Cumulus – Self Perpetuating Lifecycle. Regenerated by its own circulation. Search under centre of cloud and developing edge

Short Lived Cumulus – sky rapidly changing Good lift close to cloud-base with nothing below Search between best clouds and obvious trigger point

Cloud Shadow Trigger

Lift is biased towards sunny side. When low, search along line of advancing shadow + scalloped edge

Approaching Lift

• LOOKOUT - TRAFFIC and CLUES

• Fly all the way to the target area for lift (weave?)

• Slow down as air gets bubbly

• Fly sensitively – in trim with fingertips

• Turn immediately satisfactory lift is felt / sensed

• Confirm rate with glance at vario

• Decide to stay or go – Roll In or Out

• ATTITUDE – airspeed - trim – flaps – attitude – airspeed – trim

• Centre on maximum acceleration

• Check Averager – OBSERVE – ASK THE BIG QUESTION

Centring

What will the pilot see on his vario ?

Variometer Lag Assumptions: Glider Inertia: 1.0 second Vario Time Constant: 2.0 second Brain inertia: 1.0 second IAS: 50 knots (25 m/s) Glider sink rate: 2 kts

Solution = Max acceleration

Centring using the Principle of Maximum Acceleration

Centring – by tightening up or opening out ?

Skilled pilots use a combination of the two methods. N.B. Reducing the angle of bank as you enter the sink will always lose the thermal.

IS TOTAL ENERGY PERFECT ?

Thermal Mass = Thousands of Tons Only accelerates SLOWLY to air mass speed and is slow to change horizontal direction through windshears

Thermal Boundary Windshear – Classic TE Vario Readings

The pilot MUST fly a constant attitude and centre by feel on the vertical accelerations…………..

• Or spend a load of money on an expensive variometer system with accelerometers!

• Alternatively spend a fraction of the money on lots of launches…..It’s much cheaper and more fun to fly and practice!!

• Fly at every opportunity – practice and refine LIFT LOCATION, CENTRING and HANDLING.

• Airbrake Down, Climb Up, Airbrake Down etc.

• Circle Both Left and Right

• Force yourself to LOOKOUT and OBSERVE

• Ask yourself the BIG QUESTION

THERMAL SELECTION

• GENERAL RULES…….

1. If I hit something that feels stronger than the day’s average I will always stop and climb regardless of altitude

2. My time is precious – I will only invest it for a good return or when absolutely essential

3. Everything that happened before is history – all my decisions are based on what I see ahead.

4. As I climb up I continually look ahead and ask myself the BIG QUESTION……

THE BIG QUESTION

If I leave this thermal right now is there a good possibility of finding stronger lift ?

YES…………..LEAVE

NO……………STAY, climb some more then ask the BIG QUESTION AGAIN

NOT SURE…STAY, climb some more then ask the BIG QUESTION again and SOON.

End of Part 1

QUESTIONS ?

Part 2 – Cross Country General

• Top Tips

• Common Errors

• Q&A session

Preparation

• Equipment: Glider, Trailer and Personal

• Retrieve arrangements

• Rules and Task Objectives

• Airspace

• Practice – How to train effectively

• Andy Davis Soaring Course

Equipment

• Glider: L/E, sealing, Wheel brake, Pee System

• Instruments: Audio T/E vario, ASI, altimeter, navigation aids, FLARM. The KISS Principle

• Databases: TP and airspace

• IGC Flight Recorder(s): Comp Fix interval <6s

• Batteries and chargers. Extension lead

• Tools and spares (tyres, inner tube, skid)

• Trailer – tyres, brakes, lights, spare tyre, security

• Water ballast filling, Trestles, Tie Down, Washing Kit

Personal Equipment

• Drinking Water

• Hat

• Sunglasses, Specs

• Current Map

• PDA + data base

• Pens, ruler, protractor

• Food Bags

• Comfort – lumbar / cushions

• Peeing System

Airspace and Altimetry

• Know the rules - where you can and can’t fly.

• Use current map and airspace files

• Understand how altimeter setting affects you

• Know your local Letters of Agreement.

Cross Country Principles

• Don’t waste time striving for maximum height in every weak or weakening climb

• Altitude (height) is only a tool to get you to the next climb and not an end in itself

• Being low is not necessarily a problem, but…

• Being low in the wrong place is a huge problem

• Avoid getting low in the wrong place by…….

Asking the Big Question, deviating, holding or even making a U turn.

Speed to Fly (MacCready….ish) • There is an optimum Mc speed to fly for climb rate

to maximise average x/c speed, but……..

• The actual speed you fly has less influence than selecting the correct climbs and routing

• A good compromise Mc setting is half climb rate

• Fly the Mc speed as a target block speed and only vary for prolonged sink or lift

• Fly at a speed that gets you to the next potential climb with an alternative option if it doesn’t work

Selecting Climbs • Always stop and circle if the climb appears to be better

than the day average

• As you get lower be prepared to invest more time

• Continually scan ahead and review climb rate – Ask the BIG QUESTION regularly

• The fastest pilots generally take the strongest climbs, BUT…..before deviating far off track for an isolated good climb, consider INVESTMENT and RETURN

• Proportionality – 2 kt average is 100% better than 1 kt average, but 5 kt average is only 25% better than 4 kt

• Resist the temptation to turn in every bit of lift

Routing • Deviate as required, ideally 30

deg or less

• Large angular deviation may be justified, e.g. in heavy streeting

• Weave to follow the energy and follow it to logical conclusion

• Route around bad areas if cannot glide comfortably across, but….

• Use your glide angle and height as a tool to cross a bad area to better conditions

• Strategy: Target climb + alternate

On Task

• Don’t forget that by RACING you fly DISTANCE

• Be ruthless. Has the climb rate dropped? Can you reach a better climb?

• Look ahead, gear change as required and be prepared to push on or slow down

• Approaching TP – is it soarable? Conditions on next leg? Wind? High or low ?

• At TP – Priority is LOOKOUT and FIX in SECTOR

• Clip the TP and get on with the next leg

If You Are Getting Low

• Consider a bigger deviation to stay airborne before all options close. 90 deg or even 180 ?

• Be flexible, e.g. holding / ridge

• Don’t continue at low level just because the others are

• Always keep a landing option open – stepping stones

• Make your decision to land in good time to fly a proper circuit and stick to it

• Contact farmer, phone crew / control

Final Glide • Human Factors – tired, elated, stressed,

irrational

• Simply an extension of the soaring flight

• Monitor progress and ACT in good time

• Funnelling effect. LOOKOUT and SA

• Airfield / Finish Frequency + Radio Calls

• Avoid low / dangerous flying

• Straight-In Landing or Circuit

• Announce Intentions

• Monitor Energy and Fly Safely

• LOOKOUT + AIRSPEED

Practice Effectively every flight should have a specific training objective

• Fly x/c whenever possible

• Set achievable tasks with Start, TPs and Finish

• Practice both fixed course tasks and AATs

• Estimate speed and start at the optimum time

• Make a real effort to finish unless clearly impossible

• Work on Lookout

• Fly with other gliders

• Waterballast

• Compare your flight with others, analysis tools

If You Can’t Fly X/C

• Fly at every opportunity

• Practice finding lift low down and centring

• Improve your climb rate – experiment (bank etc)

• Circle both ways

• Airbrake down and repeat

• Work on Lookout

• Fly with other gliders

• Practice for field landing

• Select fields and visit them later

• Final Glides

QUESTIONS