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  #24  
Old January 27th 12, 11:53 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Mike the Strike
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Posts: 952
Default New Butterfly Vario

There are times when you might get into clouds unintentionally. Years
ago, on another continent, I got trapped above a layer of low cloud
that formed near storms and had to descend through it. My trusty
Jantar-1 had an SZD gyro turn and bank that enabled me to make the
descent with wings level. I almost never used that instrument, but
was glad I had it on that occasion.

A couple of years ago on a cross-country flight in Arizona, I
thermalled up high on mountains and then flew over lower terrain and
found myself over the tops of cumulus clouds and had to dodge my way
round them to the thermals underneath.

In contests, pilots I observe routinely get up into the wispies (yes,
we all do it!). When you're climbing in a ten-knot thermal it can be
hard to judge when to stop and suddenly you're in the cloud. Where
there is a dome of increased cloudbase under a cumulus, you can end up
exiting through the side of the cloud. I suspect this happens a lot,
even unintentionally.

No-one, let alone a CD at a distant airport, has any clue where the
clouds or cloudbase are.

I'm with Sean in that, if you have an instrument that might improve
safety, it would be stupid to disable it.

More fun for the Rules Committee!

Mike