Etiquette in a Thermal

On Jul 28, 11:22*pm, Tom Stock wrote:
Walt Connelly wrote:
Okay, let's hear your views on what proper etiquette might be in a
thermal. *We all know the first man in decides the direction of the turn
and we should all thermal at the same speed. *The Glider Pilot Handbook
seems somewhat unconcerned with the rules and etiquette and the internet
information seems to be the domain of the hang gliders and para-gliders
as to this subject. *What say you my friends? *(I think we have beaten
the rudder waggle thing to death)

Walt

I'd also like tips for entering a pre-established gaggle. * *Keeping other
gliders in sight is not too difficult if I am in the thermal and another
glider or two enters... but I have trouble entering with another glider and
ending up in the correct position (directly across from the other glider)..
I have been practicing be entering very low as not to disrupt the gaggle,
but I find it hard to judge the entry point and bank to get into the
gaggle. *I have been watching other pilots, and it seems they come in fast,
open brakes anf get behind a thermalling glider matching bank angle, and
then continue with brakes to slow down and sort of slip backwards into
safer position... maybe this is not actually what is going on... but thats
how it looks.

any advice appreciated.

One technique is to approach the gaggle at a tangent, slightly outside
their flighpaths. Gently pull up to slow down and match their speed,
then circle along the outside until you can slide into an opening in
the gaggle from the outside. This way, you don't have to open your
brakes (not a good idea) and can slowly ease up, slowing to the speed
of the gaggle, and wait for an opening to appear. Since you are
flying a longer path, the gaggle will be moving faster than you even
when you are at the same airspeed.

Note: DON'T get so involved in the gaggle that you stop clearing your
flightpath! This is a prime place to have a midair - if someone else
is trying to join at the same time!

Kirk
66

One of the most dangerous times is not IN the thermal, but getting
there. When you're focused intently on the 3 gliders at the same level
you want to join, it's easy to miss the guy who's ALSO approaching the
same thermal from a slightly different angle. I've got a nice near
miss [as opposed to a bad near miss] in the flight logs from a
nationals where a high-time professional pilot type slid smoothly into
a crowded thermal...and completely missed me coming in from an angle
about 30 degrees off his. That the "miss" was literal and not just
figurative was because I saw him coming and pulled up and over him as
he bored into the thermal like a laser beam, merging neatly with the
crowd there.

Keep scanning, even--especially--as you get close to the thermal.
There's a pretty good chance that anyone else approaching the thermal
at the same time is focused intently on the gaggle, not on the gliders
coming into it. This is especially true locally and pre-start when
gliders are milling about but the incident I mentioned occurred on
course when one pilot found a good thermal close to a gaggle and
multiple gliders converged on him from several directions.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
USA

Wonderful.. have learned quite a bit from this discussion. Thanks.

I had a couple of people blast into the middle of my thermal and/or
dive for my thermal and pull up right in front of me at Logan this
year, and it was _not_ fun. I subscribe to the method that John
describes, and really wish that more people would do it:

Aim for a point *outside* the current thermal and you will often find
that you come closer in to it than you expect. Stay far enough
outside that other gliders are not afraid to continue their circle
(turning inside you), then as one comes past you try to duck in and
match his/her circle - you'll find yourself often at their 8-10
o'clock.

A couple of other thoughts about thermal etiquette:

1) For god's sake, BANK the glider! Haven't guys like Moffatt and
Striedeck been preaching this for decades?? Don't the contest results
over the last umpteen years show that people who climb the best end up
with the highest speeds and the farthest distances? Find the core and
get in it. If the thermal is narrow, get that ship up at a 45-50
degree bank. If you sense that the core is to the inside of your
current circle, try to get into it and stay in it! If you nurse a
shallow bank around the outer fringes, everyone is going to outclimb
you and wind up right on your ass. This is not safe for them or for
you.

2) Turning inside one glider is NOT the same thing as turning inside
several gliders at once. I mentioned this at Logan, but there was a
day when at least 4 gliders were stacked up behind a guy doing lazy 20-
degree-bank turns and we were all looking for an opening to pass him.
I was very cautious, and finally made a strong move to the inside.
But the guy behind me had gotten impatient with me and decided to try
to cut inside of BOTH of us. I'd already initiated my turn and was
watching the glider on the outside, when my peripheral vision caught a
wingtip skip coming from behind me and towards my canopy. Suffice it
to say, it was not a happy moment! Especially since the guy on the
outside was disappearing below my canopy-rail and I didn't have many
"outs" with a guy inside of me and a guy outside of me. Luckily the
pilot on the inside realized the issue and pulled hard; but it was
close for a moment there!

Bottom-line: With other gliders in the vicinity, you need to be both
considerate and vigilant.

--Noel

Thank you all for your input. For some reason I saw no responses to this post until tonight. Something must have been wrong with the site but I have found this information most helpful.

Now....... If I can just find some gliders in a thermal.

Walt