Hi Cruiza,
I'm also one of the biggest FSX glider fans here

I do not know if they are glider misions available for downloads, however there are a couple of freeware utilities that will be VERY interesting for you:
- SimProbe and CumulusX!: two modules that work together in order to dynamically create "thermals" (for ridge soaring) alongside the mountains, depending on the wind direction !
- AeroTow: a little module that will let you choose the plane that tows you, and also let you choose the path this plane should follow.
More infos here:
http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb2 ... 1211989440and here:
http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb2 ... 1225281864Your gliding experience is going to radically change

Last point, concerning the default thermals in FSX: they do not appear if you set the "clear weather" meteo theme. You have to choose one of the other themes, for example "Fair weather" (I'm not sure about the exact english name sorry, but this is just the second one on the list). Also, the more you go toward the poles, the less the thermals. The closer you get from the equator, the more the thermals. If you want to find them more easilly, you should set the thermal visualization to "Schematic" in the game options. "Natural" visualization will place a couple of eagles soaring in the thermal, sa that you can spot them like in real life, more or less...