Circling at 400ft while being able to land anywhere doesn't mean unsafe
operations by definition. I frequently start circling over a ridge at less
than half of this altitude. But not always.
Everything depends on experience (with that glider), current training level
(with that glider), personal daily fitness, wind conditions and lift
conditions.
And you have to put the question "is it safe" every single time - but then,
this does hold for every manoeuvre.
You just have to accept that sometimes the answer to this question is "no".

--
Bert Willing

ASW20 "TW"


"scurry" a écrit dans le message de
...
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.
Do most pilots routinely fly over tiger country out of glide of anywhere
landable? I think people talk it up more than they do it. Plus, being
at 19,000 feet (by GPS) over Nevada desert with cloud streets as far as
the eye can see is a different judgment call than being 2000 feet over a
Louisiana swamp with a wisp of a cloud dome up ahead.
The way I'll keep looking at it, is how I was trained. Once I commit to
landing, I'll land. And yes, I can imagine exceptions, but they would
involve the landing option being very very bad anyway (e.g. trees).
Much better not to get into such a situation in the first place.
FWIW its very good you're asking these questions now, and not the next
time you're in lift on downwind.

Shawn