finding0 Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 From what I understand the reason that people do not paraglide mid day is because of many thermals. But isn't it true that non powered paraglider pilots look for thermals? Please explain for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dede2008 Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 hi, It's not so much the quantity of thermals rather than the quality of them. In the middle of the day, thermals are much more turbolent due to the strong ground heating. You need to fly more actively and keep constant control of your glider in order to prevent collapses. So flying becomes more stressful, expecially if you are not used to it. Low airtime pilots tend to avoid those hours and take off before or later where the heating ease up a bit and all become smoother. Your instructor should explain this better anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bilbosmeggins Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 And, even after your instructor has explained it to you, you will still find it hard to believe until you have experienced thermic flying for yourself. The sheer power and ferocity of a stonking great thermal truly beggars belief. You can get catapulted skywards whilst your balls beg for mercy. And your vario, instead of giving a nice pleasant, reassuring 2-up beep-beep, will scream at you like the banshee from hell, scaring the living piss out of you. And that's assuming the thermal has chosen to take ALL of your wing with it. Only the very skilled cross-country boys/girls who need to brave out the mid-day stuff in search of the big distances will be out at noon. Oh, and the very stupid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finding0 Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 Thank you, and yea I do not have an instructor yet. I only have about $600.00 saved up, still a long way to go. So till then I am trying to gain as much knowledge of the sport on my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1buell_wl Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 And, even after your instructor has explained it to you, you will still find it hard to believe until you have experienced thermic flying for yourself. The sheer power and ferocity of a stonking great thermal truly beggars belief. You can get catapulted skywards whilst your balls beg for mercy. And your vario, instead of giving a nice pleasant, reassuring 2-up beep-beep, will scream at you like the banshee from hell, scaring the living piss out of you. And that's assuming the thermal has chosen to take ALL of your wing with it. Only the very skilled cross-country boys/girls who need to brave out the mid-day stuff in search of the big distances will be out at noon. Oh, and the very stupid been there? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marko330 Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 And, even after your instructor has explained it to you, you will still find it hard to believe until you have experienced thermic flying for yourself. The sheer power and ferocity of a stonking great thermal truly beggars belief. You can get catapulted skywards whilst your balls beg for mercy. And your vario, instead of giving a nice pleasant, reassuring 2-up beep-beep, will scream at you like the banshee from hell, scaring the living piss out of you. And that's assuming the thermal has chosen to take ALL of your wing with it. Only the very skilled cross-country boys/girls who need to brave out the mid-day stuff in search of the big distances will be out at noon. Oh, and the very stupid love it ! a proper explanation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miniwing2 Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 yea i agree with marko330 on that one keep it coming pal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauldeakin Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 If you have a rule that say’s no flying at Midday, I would suggest that this is too simplistic, you should really try to learn and understand, the weather conditions better, and learn about lapse rates and the difference between stable and unstable air, then you can look at forecast (have a look at http://rasp.inn.leedsmet.ac.uk/RASPtable.html ). You will see that some days it is OK to fly at Midday, other days it will be thermic most of the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finding0 Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 I certainly will. When I heard you can not fly mid day it kind of upset me because I thought to my self "how the @$&* am I supposed to fly far if I can only fly morning and late day" Could you give me key words to google Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgy Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 There is nothing wrong with being out @ midday. I love thermal flying and doing Big XC's but saying no midday fly is total nonsense. It is all down to the days conditions and your skill level. You would not say no midday flying on a high pressure day now would you. When you have had some proper lessons you will understand more about the sport and when you have some flying experience you will know what type of flying you want to do. most people are happy just to fly locally in the 30-50 km range and for an hour. I one the other hand are not and like to always want push my limit (for distance/time) Good luck with the training and the saving Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemberg Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 Flying is supposed to be fun so there is no need to push the limit to fast and far. Flying in thermal condition is one of the most demanding tasks so it's not to begin with. To begin with when it comes to flying is to get comfortable in the air and learn how to start and land properly. In the beginning I would say that most people find it a bit scary and uncomfortable when the glider starts to move around and the harness is shaking due to turbulence. It's important to learn how the glider behaves and what is safe and what is not. Flying often helps a lot for this. In time it'll be okay with minor movements without feeling scared. Learning to handle the glider actively helps too, it is necessary to learn that. Practicing ground handling is a very good tool to learn how to control the glider. Fun too, especially when the weather isn't suitable for flying due to turbulence. Eventually when you feel safer and know what you are doing it is possible to fly in thermal condition, best is to start early in a day when the thermals haven't started yet, and in a day when the thermals are likely to be weak. If it starts to get bad then land. Best is to learn from an instructor of course and fly with mates that have the experience (if they know what they are doing). Anyway, with that said, not all days have thermals. It depends a lot on the area you live in, what time of year, if it has been a cold night, if there is an overcast and so on. Some days can be surprisingly stable and sometimes the other way around. Not always that easy to predict. There are weather casts with thermal prediction available. Thermal appears when the air mass is unstable. If there have been beautiful weather with high pressure for a while the air gets stable and the thermals can be non existent or weak even though it's a blue sky with a shining sun. Using the force of nature to rise to the sky is a very nice feeling. It's fun to learn and difficult to master. Best in my opinion is to use free flight gear to learn this, feels more comfortable compared to a paramotor strapped to your back. Quite a big difference I would say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 What a great post, thanks. Cheers, Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgy Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 I certainly will. When I heard you can not fly mid day it kind of upset me because I thought to my self "how the @$&* am I supposed to fly far if I can only fly morning and late day" Could you give me key words to google The main things to google would be Thermals, How a thermal works Lapse rates convergence sea breeze ridge lift/soaring anabatic and katabatic winds air pressure high and low corollas affect Cloud types glide ratio's aspect ratio's Parasitic drag profile drag and the other one i forget (form drag???) thrust line centre of gravity cord angle of attck Just a little light reading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauldeakin Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 I certainly will. When I heard you can not fly mid day it kind of upset me because I thought to my self "how the @$&* am I supposed to fly far if I can only fly morning and late day" Could you give me key words to google I would recommend the book 'Understanding the Sky' - A Sport Pilot's Guide to Flying Conditions, by Dennis Pagen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_b Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 I certainly will. When I heard you can not fly mid day it kind of upset me because I thought to my self "how the @$&* am I supposed to fly far if I can only fly morning and late day" Could you give me key words to google Out in the morning Return in the evening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finding0 Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 thank you all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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