Ridge Soaring in Switzerland

[Evillamawithhat]

I noticed there weren't many photos of gliders on this forum, so I thought I'd contribute .
Glider used- LS8-18
Airport- Sion

[Bass]

Late day, but nice
I'll bet there's a lot of upwinds in that area!

[PhantomTweak]

There would be some awesome ridge lift, even some nice Thermals around mid afternoon. Problem with ridgelift is the downdraft on the lee side of the ridge! that can grab the unwary and really give them a bad day!

I logged quite a few hours soaring the ridges around Calistoga, upper end of the Napa valley in California back in the early 70's. Tons of fun, got caught ONCE in the lee side downdraft. I got out in time but it scared the *&^*% out of me, I can tell you!

One great thing about the ridges I really enjoyed were the hawks that live in them, and who will come out and soar with you as long as you don't threaten them. Eventually you can learn some nifty aerobatics just trying to copy their maneuvers! Let's face it, they know how to fly better than any pilot ever lived! Great way to learn how an aircraft will fly under different conditions! Only thing is, NEVER try to land on the cliff with them. Will NOT work!!

Anyhow, have a fun time all!

Pat~

[yancovitch]

nice info phantom.................hmmm..i didn't think there would be much updraft in the evening as shown in the screenshot, but i don't know about these things....

[PhantomTweak]

Ridge lift is caused by the local winds blowing against a relatively vertical surface, such as a mountain ridge for example, and being forced into the vertical rather than horzontal orientation by said surface. Even striking the surface at an angle, a portion of the wind will be forced up the surface, dependant on the tangent of the angle of incidence......blah blah blah......sorry, ask me what the time is I tell ya how to build a watch....Point being, as long as the wind is blowing against the vertical surface, the ridge lift is there....

Anyway, as opposed to ridge lift, there are thermals, caused by an area of the ground being heated by the sun and causing a coloumn of air to rise above it. Thermals usually start early to mid afternoon, once the ground has warmed up, and can last well after dark, depanding on how much energy the area of ground has absorbed. Farming areas can have some great thermals, since farmers normally leave a percentage of the land fallow, often tilled up and just dark earth as opposed to the lighter colored vegitation around them. These unplanted fields absorb solar energy for a treat and make great thermals! Large, paved parking areas can also make great thermals. Ever walk on a really hot roadway? All the radiantly heated air is going upwards! Any relatively large, dark colored patch of land surface can make thermals. They can often be identified also by having cumulus clouds parked on top of them. Look for a nice flat bottomed, round topped cloud all alone and with no other obvious source. Thermal there! Don't soar up INTO the cloud tho, things get bumpy, and most gliders aren't IFR capable...

And now I have take up entirely too much of your valuable time babbling like a brook, sorry bout that....

Good soaring to ya, and have a great time!

Pat~

[yancovitch]

that was great...thanks....

[Fozzer]

For Glider enthusiasts, and powered aircraft pilots who enjoy a bumpy ride, there are loads of "Soaring Scenery" files in Sim V Library.

http://simviation.com/1/search?submit=1 ... ry&x=0&y=0

Pick any one, install it in your FS 2004/FSX Add-On Scenery Folder, and no matter where you fly, you will encounter special shaped clouds surrounding you, which give you automatic lift as you approach them!

If you tire of the experience, just un-tick the entry in the FS 2004/FSX Scenery Library!

Paul... ...!

[PhantomTweak]

That's almost entirely thermals lift, iirc, Paul, and a lot of fun, no doubt, but a royal pita if you forget to turn it off and try to do traps onto a carrier. Seems as tho there is invariably a "burble" off the end of the boat causing one to miss high or find the rounddown very nicely....

Still good for the Soaring enthusiasts! I fly the northern California area a lot in gliders using that....

Good fun to all!

Pat~

[Fozzer]

That's almost entirely thermals lift, iirc, Paul, and a lot of fun, no doubt, but a royal pita if you forget to turn it off and try to do traps onto a carrier. Seems as tho there is invariably a "burble" off the end of the boat causing one to miss high or find the rounddown very nicely....

Still good for the Soaring enthusiasts! I fly the northern California area a lot in gliders using that....

Good fun to all!

Pat~

..... ... ...!

Probably why I have no particular enthusiasm for landing on the Aircraft Carrier parked in the Pacific, just off Golden Gate Bridge!..... ...!

...and what about the Farallon Islands, a bit further out?... http://www.farallones.org/ (some nice add-on scenery for them!).

But the thermal lift given by those fancy clouds certainly makes the flying experience very realistic, ie;bumpy, and makes sure that one keeps one's wits about one, especially when trying to concentrate on the Flare!

Callistoga.....One of my regular haunts in MIDCAL*? in the Napa and Sonoma Wine valleys, with my little Microlights, Flexwings, and Gyroplanes, and also my trusty Cessna 150/152's.... ...!

A nice little town: Petaluma (with its airfield), in Sonoma Valley.... .... http://www.visitpetaluma.com/

Paul...The Intrepid Tourist... ...!

* California: NORCAL. MIDCAL?. SOCAL.... ...!

[PhantomTweak]

I originally got my Glider license back in '74 at the tender age of 14. Even got a small mention in the local paper as being one of the youngest in the port's history to get his cert
That was back when Calistoga was still an active glider port tho, with a flight school and glider tours buisiness running there and a sky diving group running on weekends. Loved to get out there and lust lay in a big field behind my grandmother's house (where I lived during the summer of 74) and watch the sky divers do their thing. Of course, the weekends were the busy time, so I spent most of my time being a good little line-boy for the glider tourists, earning flight time for my own learning. It was a nice way of earning flight time for myself, 5 hrs of work= 1hr of flight time, solo or dual either.

And just so you know, us natives usually call Norcal anything north of Santa Cruz, roughly, maybe Monterray, and SoCal everything to the south of that line. No "midcal" I've ever heard of, altho thing have changed a lot since I lived there in Woodside.

I love shooting traps on carriers all over the world in the F-14's and f-18's. The 14's are a much bigger challenge of you don't use the autosweep mod, but a lot of fun and real feeling of having DONE something that others don't afther a good trap. Of course, the feeling after a bolter of waveoff is mostly embarrassment....

Anyway, I'm off to do that now, see if I can't destroy a few Naval assets! Have a wonderful day all!

Pat~

[Fozzer]

Thanks for the tip, Pat... ...

.....just drawn a horizontal line on my Cal map starting on the Pacific Coast at Watsonville Airfield, and travelling eastwards to the Nevada Border, so NORCAL and SOCAL will lie either side of it....

.....no confusion now.
I know where I am when ATC are talking to me!... ...!

Paul..... ...!

[CHUCK79]

Beauty