On Feb 5, 8:40*am, Uncle Fuzzy wrote:
Thermals are so dynamic that detecting them beyond a 1000 meters or so
won't be terribly useful. *They'll just dissipate before you can get
there. *You can play this game in Condor Competition Flight Simulator
but setting the thermal visibility to various ranges. *Heading off for
a thermal in the distance doesn't work.

??? 1000 meters is less than a minute away. *I haven't flown many
places, but the thermals in the desert southwest hang around long
enough that a kilometer range would be quite useful. *I think longer
would be better.

Just my clumsy way of saying that the biggest benefits of thermal
detection will be at shortest ranges. Long range detection would show
hot spots where thermals are popping consistently but not the actual
thermal you will find when you get there.

As I say, go play with Condor. Set the thermal to be visible but set
the range to the minimum. You'll see what I mean.