Stefan wrote:
Am 16.01.10 23:26, schrieb Jim Logajan:

See page 7-34 of the FAA publication "Glider Flying Handbook"

Hum... They write "The object of speed-to-fly is to minimize the time
and/or altitude required to fly from the current position to the next
thermal." This is just plain wrong.

Wrong how? Note that they first write "Speed-to-fly refers to the optimum
airspeed for proceeding from one source of lift to another."

Others use the term similarly, e.g.:

"Speed-to-fly means selecting the optimum airspeed for cruising through a
given airmass, whether subsiding, still, or ascending. The goal is to
maximize distance flown per unit of altitude consumed. In a nutshell, you
can summarize the speed-to-fly concept as follows: fly slowly when in lift,
fly fast through sink, fly faster stil through very heavy sink."
- "The Art of Thermaling" by Bob Wander.