Le jeudi 19 septembre 2019 11:47:27 UTC+2, a écritÂ*:
Of the phases - "prospecting, climbing, floating and gliding", only climbing and gliding are familiar to me for sailplane flight analysis. Are floating and prospecting hang glider and paraglider terms? I wouldn't find them
useful.

Those terms apply to the 3 disciplines, and yes, they are new in flight analysis !

In a few words:
- when you look for a thermal/wave, or lose it to find it again, it is "prospecting".
- when you fly a portion of your flight better than you usually glide, it is "floating".

This can be very useful to help pilots progress during debriefing. For example, it is actually used by instructors in France to discuss the flight a posteriori with their students, so they can better understand what can be improved.