Hi Guys,
I'm close to getting my H3, and one thing I realized is that it doesn't have any requirements for thermaling skills or theory. I realize this is an area that can take some time to get good at, so if you see me in the skies, feel free to give me constructive criticism, either when I'm in the air on radio, or in the LZ.
I'm the guy with the English accent with an all white "Dubai" F3 170, and a black and purple WWZ4+ harness.
Mike
Help me become a better pilot
Moderator: Chip
Help me become a better pilot
Last edited by Spitfire on Thu Jun 07, 2012 11:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: your request: I'm not the one to give advice, but, I have to say, you have a GREAT attitude. Those guys (and me) judging landings really hard are doing it b/c they know exactly what's at stake, how important it is, and where it will eventually bite you... (They're equally as good abt. thermaling skills, as well.)
I hope you get lots of excellent advice! I know I have. I can't thank the "degenerate" crew enough for their help. I might not always LIKE what they say, but I know it's true...
I hope you get lots of excellent advice! I know I have. I can't thank the "degenerate" crew enough for their help. I might not always LIKE what they say, but I know it's true...
janyce
"You HAVE to make it..."
"You HAVE to make it..."
Re: Help me become a better pilot
I'll keep an ear out for you Mike!Spitfire wrote:...when I'm in the air on radio,....
Thanks guys. I know what's at stake, having been one half of the midair at last years Spring Air festival. Since then I've flown a ton and muscle memory makes it easier to have much greater awareness in the skies, but it does leave me with a feeling that I'm extremely lucky it wasn't much worse. It can happen to anyone, hence why I'm always open to good advice.
Mike,
Few of the pilots here are satisfied with their thermaling skills, including myself. Hence the relative silence from pilots.
Advice I can offer is this:
Don't forget the other half of thermaling, "Sink Management".
Be alert for sink, recognize it and get out of it!
Are you in rotor?
Are you right next to a thermal?
Conserve your elevation and you will be better positioned for a good climb when you find it.
Few of the pilots here are satisfied with their thermaling skills, including myself. Hence the relative silence from pilots.
Advice I can offer is this:
Don't forget the other half of thermaling, "Sink Management".
Be alert for sink, recognize it and get out of it!
Are you in rotor?
Are you right next to a thermal?
Conserve your elevation and you will be better positioned for a good climb when you find it.
conventional wisdom says broaden your turn with the vario is beeping stronger and turn tighter when it slacks off. i think not. when it screams at me, i turn tighter to stay in the stronger lift. i believe both the vario and my aged body have a built in lag rate. may the odds be ever in your favor.
eat right, exercise, die anyway!
I tried to learn to thermal without a vario, and it takes a while to figure out how to turn the most efficiently. A vario will really help you decide when to leave a thermal and how to core it more efficiently (and really helps tell the difference between going from dead--> lift and sink --> dead) but I tend to be of the opinion that if you are thermalling efficiently you should already be initiating your turn to stay in the thermal before you hear the first beep from the vario.
That said, I need a lot more practice, being rather unsatisfied with my own thermalling ability
just my $.02
That said, I need a lot more practice, being rather unsatisfied with my own thermalling ability
just my $.02
Yeah, if you are sensitive to the lift you will know you are in it before your vario announces it. The vario becomes confirmation of it. The vario will also tell you where it is strongest.
Be careful not to chase the strongest lift too aggressively. If you fall out of the thermal you will lose more than you could have gained by chasing it. As Joe would say " Keep it turning" and "Keep a steady bank angle".
Be patient if you are climbing.
Be careful not to chase the strongest lift too aggressively. If you fall out of the thermal you will lose more than you could have gained by chasing it. As Joe would say " Keep it turning" and "Keep a steady bank angle".
Be patient if you are climbing.
Thanks for all the replies, Saturday's flight confirmed that my thermaling is definitely improving. One area I particularly want to improve on is thermaling in crowds. A couple of pilots told me on Saturday about how to vary bank angle to keep the other pilot opposite from you - made a huge difference. If you see me flying out of formation, feel free to let me know (I'm on radio or in the LZ).
This is actually a big area that I've pretty much neglected and would save me a LOT of altitude! Do y'all use your sink alarm, and if so at what setting (or what would you recommend for a Falcon)?Malury wrote:Mike,
Few of the pilots here are satisfied with their thermaling skills, including myself. Hence the relative silence from pilots.
Advice I can offer is this:
Don't forget the other half of thermaling, "Sink Management".
Thanks for all the replies, Saturday's flight confirmed that my thermaling is definitely improving. One area I particularly want to improve on is thermaling in crowds. A couple of pilots told me on Saturday about how to vary bank angle to keep the other pilot opposite from you - made a huge difference. If you see me flying out of formation, feel free to let me know (I'm on radio or in the LZ).
This is actually a big area that I've pretty much neglected and would save me a LOT of altitude! Do y'all use your sink alarm, and if so at what setting (or what would you recommend for a Falcon)?Malury wrote:Mike,
Few of the pilots here are satisfied with their thermaling skills, including myself. Hence the relative silence from pilots.
Advice I can offer is this:
Don't forget the other half of thermaling, "Sink Management".
My sink alarm is set for 300 ft. down. I think that would be a good setting for a Falcon too. Any tighter and it will just bother you.
I usually know I am in sink from visual clues. The alarm is helpful when I am not near terrain or just not paying attention. When it goes off I pull on some speed and bug out. Then watch the vario for diminishing sink because when you slow down you may discover lift again.
I usually know I am in sink from visual clues. The alarm is helpful when I am not near terrain or just not paying attention. When it goes off I pull on some speed and bug out. Then watch the vario for diminishing sink because when you slow down you may discover lift again.
Thanks for the note about "sink management", Malury. It helped me have a really great flight last weekend. Usually I just scrub around looking for thermals the whole time, but keeping the sink part of the equation in mind, I focused more on conserving my height (turning wider or flying straight in light lift, minimizing my sink rate) during sink cycles, while waiting for things to pick up again. It seemed to be very effective!
A paraphrase of a quote from the Sailplane classic "Cross Country Soaring":
Fly though good air as many times as possible.
The corrolary to this, is to fly through bad air as few times as possible.
It is amazing how many people ignore the second part of this...
Or, when in sink, think of Monty Python, and "Run awayyyy...."
* You wouldn't think so, but for some reason the second part is, in fact, more difficult to make oneself implement consistantly. Some weird psycological thing, I guess.
Fly though good air as many times as possible.
The corrolary to this, is to fly through bad air as few times as possible.
It is amazing how many people ignore the second part of this...
Or, when in sink, think of Monty Python, and "Run awayyyy...."
* You wouldn't think so, but for some reason the second part is, in fact, more difficult to make oneself implement consistantly. Some weird psycological thing, I guess.
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
I find it difficult because when in lift, your vario chirps away, and you push out (if safe). The rest of the time you're sinking. So differentiating between sinking and being in sink is more nuanced. Especially when you speed up to exit the sink and sink even more.stebbins wrote: * You wouldn't think so, but for some reason the second part is, in fact, more difficult to make oneself implement consistantly. Some weird psycological thing, I guess.
That's very well said. It has taken me years to re-train myself to ignore instinct and respond with what will keep me in the air. Now, on my Falcon there is a very small window for pulling the bar in before I end up even worse off. On my T2C 144 I have gone as fast as 70 mph to escape multi-mile wide areas of heavy sink and reach the next zone of lift with the greatest possible altitude.Spitfire wrote:I find it difficult because when in lift, your vario chirps away, and you push out (if safe). The rest of the time you're sinking. So differentiating between sinking and being in sink is more nuanced. Especially when you speed up to exit the sink and sink even more.stebbins wrote: * You wouldn't think so, but for some reason the second part is, in fact, more difficult to make oneself implement consistantly. Some weird psycological thing, I guess.
On a Falcon it's vital to know when to leave an area before the sink even starts. You can't just pull a string and go super-fast. You can only go a little bit faster but that may be all it takes.
As a low hour falconer, I've climbed though a few topless.jcflies wrote:He'll be thinking of you, back when you used to hang glide, while he's climbing through everyone!
As a higher hour intermediate glider guy, I have had many a low hour falcon climb through me.
In the Owen's I joined a sailplane climbing against a granite pillar north of Whitney Portal. I met him 1000 below, as we took one pass I was was less than 50 feet above him. His knees where almost to his chin, I could clearly see his Gilligan's Island sailplane hat. A few minutes later I was over 13k and he was landing out at manzanar (bummer retrieve in a glider in the owens)
I used to fly, last month. Can't wait to fly again.