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My friend called me up yesterday and asked if I wanted to go gliding with him. Like I really needed to answer.

Getting towed up to 3,000 feet, looking west down Rt. 78.


[ka-chunk] Cable released, and our Pawnee pilot relives his Thunderbird days.


Clearing turns over the highway to look for thermals (got me dizzy )


Finding only one or two thermals, it's time to head back. Oh well, twenty minutes ain't bad. Especially since it was free.


And a Taylor for good luck.


-James

Nice photo's!

The way that pilot breaks is the same as most skydiveplane pilots break away, always in a steap downward curve .

Good for you to go up!!  Nice catch on the break away!!

Great shots, James!!

A perfect day...

ok i never took a glider up nor know nothing about it..well a lil bit but how do u look for thermals? and if your really really high in the sky how do u look then?

ok i never took a glider up nor know nothing about it..well a lil bit but how do u look for thermals? and if your really really high in the sky how do u look then?

You can feel them lift you up.  Ive only been in a glider once where it caught a thermal and you just feel the plane to start rising, its pretty cool.

Glad to see you did some real flying at last.

Love that Taylorcraft.

Awesome.  Gliding has to be so peaceful with just the wind noise and no engine noise (as long as there's a landing strip nearby, otherwise it might not be so peaceful ).

What glider where you flying, looks like a K4?

Matt

Great shots James...thanks for taking us along...  

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

ok i never took a glider up nor know nothing about it..well a lil bit but how do u look for thermals? and if your really really high in the sky how do u look then?

Apparently, other than feeling for lift or keeping an eye on the variometer, or VSI (or keeping an ear open- many gliders have variometers that beep to tell you when you're getting any lift), glider pilots also look for terrain that might provide uplifting warm air... surfaces that are reflective, like wooded areas, will absorb less heat, but pavement and plowed fields will absorb more, and release it sooner than, say, water (which hangs onto heat).
It doesn't have to be very hot, there just needs to be a good difference between the air over one location and the air nearby.

Other than looking down, one can look for growing clouds... or soaring birds. Raptors and scavengers make constant use of thermals, as well as mechanical lift from wind passing over high or steep terrain, and they are very good at finding it. If you see a hawk or buzzard going up or just circling, chances are very good that it is riding on a column of rising air.

I also know some regular glider pilots who say they've been drawn to thermals by the sight of grass clippings and even plastic trash bags seen climbing upwards... ;D

I haven't done any nonpowered flying, but all of this stuff can be verified by any powered-aircraft pilot; flying something like a Champ in particular taught me quite a bit about lift , both thermal and mechanical. And downdrafts... eeeeee.... but that's another story. ;D

But don't take my word for it: this site provides excellent info on how gliders do it. To read parts 2 and 3, go to "Articles > General" in the left margin...



http://www.ushpa.aero/article26.asp

ok i never took a glider up nor know nothing about it..well a lil bit but how do u look for thermals? and if your really really high in the sky how do u look then?

Like Rotty said, there are a few tell-tale signs of where a thermal might be. I tend to use clouds as a reference to where the thermals are, and try to position myself downwind of a nice big fluffy cumulus cloud, the blacker the bottom the better. You will usually enter a load of sink, but, where there is sink, there is lift!  :P Usually you will fly into the thermal and one of your wings will be 'lifted' by it, and all you do is force the lifted wing down and turn in that direction to become established into the thermal. It's then a series of tight turns and keeping a good eye on your vario to try and get dead in the centre of the thermal for maximum lift. It seems to work for me.