The advice of Jay Rebbeck (former World Junior Champion)in an article in
Sailplane and Gliding a few years ago was to fly your Macready setting
in the top 50% of the height between ground and cloudbase. Once you drop
below 50%, reduce your speed to fly until you find the thermal to get
you back into the top 50%. He reckons this works irrespective of whether
your cloudbase is 3,000 ft or 15,000 ft.

The thing I find hardest is not stopping to climb in the top 50% for
anything but the best lift - that's why I'm pretty much the slowest
pilot around.

wrote:
Noel (and Barny and all):

Since others might be in the same boat, here is a review of height
bands. Please accept my apology if this goes too far back as others
might benefit.

According to Phil Petmecky's "Breaking the Apron Strings, page 29 and
33," Flight bands are designed solely to increase your speed. The
primary time to use flight bands is when speed or time is a factor;
such as during a contest task, or a long badge flight, or racing the
sun or clouds (this last one is my addition). Altitude bands allow us
to fly fast when conditions warrant, without reducing our options at
lower altitudes. Flight bands expand our options as we get lower.

Per Bob Wander's "Glider Polars and Speed-to-fly Made Easy, page 18,"
Fly aggressive speeds when high in the band, conservative speeds when
in the middle of the band, and fly survival speeds when low in the
band.

The normal operating band is most often the top two thirds of the
convection layer (e.g.: If the maximum achieved altitude is 6,000'
AGL, the normal operating band is between 2,000-6,000 feet). But until
confidence is gained, the new cross-country pilot might use the top
half of the convection layer as the normal operating height band.
Below the normal operating band, any lift should be used (until
gaining more experience).

Raul Boerner
LS6-b
(also with only two Regionals under the belt)