The "standard" is to circle to the left. Usually this is a must near glider
airfields, especially with a competition going on. This is for safety
reasons.
While on x-country and joining other gliders, the circle direction is given
by these other gliders in the same thermal.
When alone and hitting a thermal, the direction to turn into is where you
suspect the thermal to be. Some experience is required for that. It always
makes sense to circle towards the direction of rotation of the thermal if
there is any rotation. Some pilots have the idea that 2/3 of the thermals
rotate counter clockwise looking from below. I have the idea that this may
be true, but only at low altitudes. That's why quite a lot of pilots, and I
am one of them, circle to the right when low. Some other pilots think that
there is no rotation at all, except in very narrow dust devils which are
unsuitable to fly in.

Karel, NL
"William W. Plummer" schreef in bericht
news:gCWHb.163786$8y1.490686@attbi_s52...
I didn't receive any direction about which way to circle. Common sense
would rule out going against the traffic in an established pattern.

If there is a "standard" I wonder if it is related to the default for
holds
(right) in airplanes. I used to wonder why the default for holds is to
the
right but the default for VFR patterns at airports is left. --Bill



"Casey Wilson" wrote in message
...

Agreed. Circling direction is more often dictated by other gliders
in
the thermal than meteorological phenomena and physics.


The protocol I was taught was that unless you are first into the
thermal, you follow the left or right pattern of the gliders already
there.
I've never had a preference of right or left. I was taught to turn
into
whichever wingtip went up.
I was also taught that the most efficient technique, that is the
highest rate of altitude gain, is in a 45-degree bank turn hopefully
"coring" the thermal.
Up here in the Mojave Desert flying out of IYK, I've been in a
couple
of
10 Knot thermals but 5 to 6 is the most common. I can't ever remember
any
kind of cyclonic rotation of any of them.
That said, I did once, inadvertantly fly into a dust-devil. I NEVER
want
to do that again. If I had seen any dust indication that it was there I
would definitely have avoided it in the first place.