SE Wales Hang Gliding & Paragliding Forums

i have edited an article that was in a skywings 2000 edition. it has information that assists with developing the psychology of going xc.
if you want to cut and paste it to download it to use for reference then it can be added to the checklist in the previous posting to build a folder of information for use.

First Principles of Cross Country Flying article by Pete Lehmann from Skywings April 2000, donated by Steve Anderson, edited by Sheryl Cameron
DECISIVENESS
Go to lift: don’t let habit, local custom, concerns about retrieve routes, reaching the regular landing field distract you from finding lift. Every pilot has enough information to know where lift ought to be found: clouds, ridges, bowls, treelines etc.

Clouds: the most reliable indicators of the location and character of thermals. They tell you where lift might be found, how long it will last, its possible strength and where it won’t be. They tell us if mountains are working, or the flat lands, they let us know if there are shear lines we can exploit, or if we are leaving or entering a different air mass.

Sink = Lift: The atmosphere is in equilibrium. Flying into sinking air, it is likely there is good lift in front of you somewhere. Retracing your course after flying through sink means you cross the same sinking area. The odds of finding lift are greatly increased by continuing ahead rather than turning around. Trusting that there is more lift out there gives a pilot the confidence and freedom to leave the launch area and go cross country.

If it isn’t here, go elsewhere: you need to find lift to stay up. If you are not going up where you are, move. You must just cover ground and traverse as much air as possible to increase your chances of hitting lift. Aimlessly staying in one spot is useless. Even if you don’t have a clue where you are going, it is still better to glide off in one direction or the other.
When in doubt, go downwind: the chances of finding lift are greatly increased by crossing lots of ground, and going downwind enables us to accomplish this. Fighting upwind in search of lift is a waste of time and altitude.
Flying with other pilots- never chase from below: If a pilot is above you or ahead of you do not abandon your climb to follow. You will most likely arrive at the bottom of their thermal just as it is dying. Maintain your cool and don’t start to play catch up by racing. Over the course of a cross country flight pilots will swap the lead several times. Be patient, what goes around, comes around.

The 200ft rule: When searching a likely lift source (such as under a cloud), allow yourself 200ft of altitude searching for lift. If you haven’t begun to climb after 200 ft, leave. You are much more likely to land early if you let the hope of lift and fear of leaving guide your decision making.

PERSISTENCE
Landing is forever: Most pilots seldom see really good conditions. As a result we all need to make the best of what we’ve got. There is no room for landing simply because we are lazy and figure there will be another time. The key is to work everything possible to delay the landing that marks the end of our hopes. As long as we are in the air we have the option of continuing.

Work the weak stuff: misconception: To fly far one must fly in strong conditions. The problem is even on an otherwise good day we will encounter weak periods. A long flight will not have strong conditions from start to finish. Patiently and skilfully working weak lift is what distinguishes a good from an excellent flight.

The first 100ft: Upon first encountering thermals they are often weak, small and broken. You can often climb in them but only by paying close attention to the vario and the gliders behaviour, and by flying the glider forcefully and precisely. You must focus on aggressively putting your glider into the best available lift for as long as possible. You may go in and out of lift, it may try to spit you out, but you will climb as long as you fight back and pay attention to where the strongest bits of lift are. If you can climb as little as 100ft, the odds are excellent that the thermal will come together into a more easily worked configuration, and you will be on your way to cloudbase. It is crucial that the pilot concentrates their attention and physical efforts into making the glider climb the critical first 100ft.

PERSISTENCE AND DECISIVENESS
Shifting gears: Recognising when to work weak lift and when not to. A long flight involves a broad mix of conditions. The early flight may be small and weak, it may become booming mid-flight, and fat and weak late in the day. Lift conditions will vary and they will require different flying. If conditions are booming it is wasteful to hang onto every last piece of lift. At that time we need to glide at a higher speed. If lift weakens, we must slow down and be patient. If we are at great altitude, fly fast. If we are heading into a wet flat area, slow down, and use every piece of lift.
The difficulty is recognising when to slow down even when lift has been good for some time. Conversely , you need to know when to speed up when things have changed for the better. Keep your eyes open and integrate as much information as possible from indicators close in and far out.

Never lock onto one tactic: fixing mistakes: the difference between an experienced pilot and a rookie lies in the ability of the skilled pilot to find lift after their first choice didn’t work out. The better pilot never commits to one narrowly confining tactic for finding lift. They anticipate the possibility of failure and already have a series of choices available to them if the original decision does not work. When a pilot leaves one thermal and heads towards where they feel the next one ought to be they don’t fly blindly in a straight line to it. They include an awareness that the thermal may not be there. They tailor their approach so it runs under parts of less formed clouds en route, or fly with speed which doesn’t burn off too much altitude.

EXCEPTIONS
All the above observations have exceptions, but pilots are advised not to be too hasty to violate them unless they are well experienced with cross country flying. By adopting these guidelines, the pilots’ learning curves will be accelerated.