601
edits
Soaring: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m
no edit summary
mNo edit summary |
|||
| Line 59: | Line 59: | ||
Glider pilots can enter the thermals and circle in them to gain altitude. A good thermal might have a radius of about 1000 m and provide 1 - 3 m/s of lift. However, where there is lift, there is also sink: thermals are usually surrounded by a region of sinking airmass, and the convective upward motion of air also creates turbulence. | Glider pilots can enter the thermals and circle in them to gain altitude. A good thermal might have a radius of about 1000 m and provide 1 - 3 m/s of lift. However, where there is lift, there is also sink: thermals are usually surrounded by a region of sinking airmass, and the convective upward motion of air also creates turbulence. | ||
{| | |||
[[File:Soaring_thermals01.jpg|400px|Strong Cumulus development indicating good thermals]] | |[[File:Soaring_thermals01.jpg|400px|thumb|Strong Cumulus development indicating good thermals]] | ||
[[File:Soaring_thermals02.jpg|400px|Entering a cap cloud reduces visibility dramatically]] | ||[[File:Soaring_thermals02.jpg|400px|thumb|Entering a cap cloud reduces visibility dramatically]] | ||
|} | |||
While the lift column reaches deep inside the cap cloud, a glider can usually only climb to the cloudbase. Entering the cap cloud is quite dangerous, as the visibility deteriorates rapidly and orientation can be completely lost. The Cumulonimbus clouds characteristic for thunderstorms have very powerful updrafts of air, but for obvious reasons (strong turbulence, possibility of hail and icing,...) they should not be used by glider pilots. | While the lift column reaches deep inside the cap cloud, a glider can usually only climb to the cloudbase. Entering the cap cloud is quite dangerous, as the visibility deteriorates rapidly and orientation can be completely lost. The Cumulonimbus clouds characteristic for thunderstorms have very powerful updrafts of air, but for obvious reasons (strong turbulence, possibility of hail and icing,...) they should not be used by glider pilots. | ||
| Line 70: | Line 71: | ||
The region of lift is usually very close to the ground, so one has to stay dangerously close to possibly rugged terrain in order to get good ridge lift conditions. | The region of lift is usually very close to the ground, so one has to stay dangerously close to possibly rugged terrain in order to get good ridge lift conditions. | ||
[[File:Ridge_lift01.jpg|400px|Riding the ridge]] | {| | ||
[[File:Ridge_lift02.jpg|400px|Staying close to the ground to get ridge lift]] | |[[File:Ridge_lift01.jpg|400px|thumb|Riding the ridge]] | ||
||[[File:Ridge_lift02.jpg|400px|thumb|Staying close to the ground to get ridge lift]] | |||
|} | |||
=== Wave lift === | === Wave lift === | ||