Norbas wrote:
i´ve an old (70+) friend that used to launch small pieces of toilet paper or
even yellow pages from phone books, cut to pieces. It seems pretty effective
to him. Perhaps a good old habit from the 50's...

I'm thinking it's not useful to have markers showing the lift where
you've already been - you know what's there, so why mark it? How about
something that disperses the markers over an area about two or three
times the size of a circle, so you can see what the lift is in places
you haven't flown through?

A toilet paper roll with a large firecracker in it, and a spring loaded
ejector would do the trick, but I sure wouldn't want to be in the
cockpit if the firecracker exploded before the roll was ejected!

I know! A trained flock of small soaring birds that you release when
desperate. They spread out over the area, circling when they find lift.
Once you start climbing, they return to the glider and crawl back
inside, ready for the next time you need their assistance.

Or, always team fly with 5 or 6 friends (buy them identical gliders if
you have to). Someone will find lift.

Or, do what I do: carry lift in the glider, and when you need some, turn
it on. It's a mature technology, available today from your glider
dealer. OK, maybe not available TODAY, but he'll be glad to order it for
you, and within a year, you'll have it. Or, buy a used one, and get it a
lot sooner.
--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA