scurry wrote:
Ted Wagner wrote:

Thanks Shawn, I'll take a look.

Was it unsafe? No, not that time. Here you are! Definitely risky though.
Thermalling at low altitude isn't like thermalling aloft. Thermals are
less consolidated and much smaller in area. Wind shear due to ground
features alters the way thermals behave relative to higher up on the
same day, in the same wind. Perspective is different as well. The
ground appears to disappear under the lower wing near the ground (moving
front to back), whereas at altitude it appears from under the lower
wing. If you try to "fix" this picture automatically, you'll keep
finding yourself in a skidding turn every time you scan past the yaw string.

An excellent point. I've found myself more than once skidding
because of wind creating an illusion close to the ground. The
only way I've found to counter it is being aware of the wind, and
using slow roll rates and shallow banks close to the ground (so I don't
need much rudder anyway).
--

------------+
Mark Boyd
Avenal, California, USA