Advanced Soaring Made Easy 4.1 edition

This 4th edition is now the all-encompassing book on advanced soaring. New topics have been included, the structure of the book was changed, the page layout and graphics were much improved, the text has been revised or extended throughout, and the quality of many new photographs is simply spectacular - all courtesy of my editor, who until recently was the 35-year editor of the Canadian gliding magazine, Free Flight.

Previous editions have quickly turned into best sellers (the third edition was available in four languages) and have already helped many solo pilots become highly skilled and very competent cross-country pilots. This new and final edition is completely up-to-date with current changes in the sport and offers new pilots a self-coaching tool with all the information needed from a single source. This doesn't mean that performance oriented pilots were forgotten; on the contrary, chapters on competition flying, glider fine-tuning, and the all-important psychological aspects assist experienced pilots to improve their success rate in competitions or enhance their chances at record attempts.

Every glider pilot can benefit from the breadth of information in this book. Inexperienced pilots will gain valuable insights while building basic skills, avoiding setbacks and disappointments. Cross-country pilots can use the advanced theoretical knowledge in the development of superior practical skills. Competition pilots will find their knowledge challenged, resulting in insights that will greatly contribute to rapid progress. In short, "Advanced Soaring Made Easy" is the ultimate book for pilots trying to get on the fast track to success - a book that no ambitious glider pilot can afford to ignore.

187 illustrations, 176 photographs

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1 Training in the vicinity of the airfield
2 Introduction
2 Thermal recognition
5 Centering a thermal
9 Using other gliders as lift indicators
10 Thermalling entry and etiquette
13 Thermalling at a steady rate of climb
15 Audio variometers
16 Thermalling speeds
18 The effect of different wing loadings
18 Angle of bank
22 Drag
25 Practical hints
25 Problems arising while thermalling steeply
26 Avoiding sink
27 The importance of flying accurately
28 Spinning in gliders
30 Structure of thermals
33 Thermal formation and behaviour on a calm day
34 Finding thermals on blue days
35 Efficient centering in blue conditions
36 Thermal behaviour on windy days
41 Lift under cumulus clouds
42 Finding the core under large cumulus clouds
43 Lift towards the end of the day
45 The effect of humidity on thermals
47 Thermal spacing
47 Tactics just before and after launching
49 Overdevelopment and cycling
49 Dissipating cumulus clouds
50 The self-stoking effect of cumulus
51 Dust devils
54 Other sources of energy
54 Training with gliding simulators

Chapter 2 Weather and gliding
58 Introduction
59 The sun is hard at work
60 The importance of inversions
61 The Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate (DALR)
62 The Environmental Lapse Rate (ELR)
63 An everyday practical example
64 The role of the dew point
66 Prediction of thunderstorms
67 Overdevelopment of cumulus clouds
68 Strength of thermal activity
71 Internet-based assessment of soaring conditions
72 The physics of air flow
75 Global pressure systems
80 Sea breeze fronts
86 A clue from the clouds above
89 The life cycle of cumulus clouds
92 Cloud cover
93 The "Skew T – Log P" diagram
95 The Tephigram

Chapter 3 Preparing for cross-country flying
98 Getting ready for road retrieves
99 A partnership with your crew
100 A checklist for taking a glider away
100 Preparation for longer flights
109 Do a pilot DI
110 Training aimed at cross-country
112 Getting help from a coach
114 "Lead and follow" coaching
117 Self-coaching
118 Team flying
119 What is a reasonable task for today?
121 The point of no return
122 What did I learn today?
123 The key word is training – proper training

Chapter 4 Local soaring & early cross-country
126 Introduction
127 FAI gliding badges
127 Risk, and stepping out of your comfort zone
129 Dealing with fear
130 Looking for lift when low
133 About birds
135 Wind shear
136 Air flow above the convection level
138 Cu-nim and thunderstorm conditions
141 Drift
142 Map reading
144 Mountain flying for flatland pilots
156 Flying with water ballast
159 Long distance flying
163 Simulators for virtual cross-country

Chapter 5 Landing out
170 Introduction
171 Your useless altimeter
171 Determining wind direction
173 Circuit planning
174 Field selection
178 The landing
180 After the landing
181 Dos and don'ts
183 Aerotow retrieves
184 Long term benefits
187 Outlanding training with motorgliders
187 Conclusion

Chapter 6 Advanced cross-country flying
190 Introduction
191 Are we using too many thermals?
191 Are we hanging on to a thermal too long?
191 Are we centering a thermal quickly enough?
194 Are we thermalling efficiently enough?
195 Is our meteorological navigation up to scratch?
196 Is our thermal selection good enough?
197 The cost of detours
201 Speed to fly
205 How important is cruising at optimum speed?
206 Probability of intercepting a thermal
207 Flying tactics on track and using height bands
210 Thermal streets
215 Dolphin flying
221 Haze domes
221 Leaving a thermal
222 Final glide
225 Flight analysis

Chapter 7 Winning the mental game
232 Planning
233 The importance of being fully focused
234 Positive thinking
236 Making decisions based on observation
239 Thinking ahead
240 Concentration and relaxation
244 Learn how to learn
244 Dealing with mistakes
246 Mental rehearsal
250 Confidence and over-confidence
251 Commitment and self-motivation
253 Setting a goal and achieving it
255 The effect of mood on performance
257 Decision fatigue
258 The formula for success
259 Analyse your flight
261 Learn from the experts
261 Believe in your ability to succeed

Chapter 8 Flying competitively
264 Choosing a competition class
264 Preparing for your first competition
266 Get to know the contest area
267 Starting a race
269 Out on a competition task
273 Winning by not losing
273 Turn points
278 The problem of stress in competition
281 Shaving off the seconds
282 Risk management
283 Staying fit for the duration of the contest
284 Is the mature glider pilot disadvantaged?

Chapter 9 Let's get technical
288 Getting the most out of the glider
289 Types of variometers
292 Your unreliable variometer
294 Getting the variometer set-up correct
296 Optimising a glider's center of gravity
297 Why winglets work
299 Use of flaps
303 Bug wipers
304 Visibility improvements
305 GPS navigation
306 Using the radio
308 FLARM
311 Satellite personal tracking systems

Chapter 10 Ridge lift and slope soaring
315 Introduction
315 Theoretical fundamentals
316 Conditions affecting ridge soaring
317 Obstacles upwind of the ridge
319 Ridge lift and thermals
320 Katabatic and anabatic winds
321 Changes in wind direction and strength
322 Flying tactics
323 Flying well above the ridge
324 Rules of the road
324 Dangers
326 Pure exitement in New Zealand

Chapter 11 Wave lift
332 Introduction and some history
334 Topography
336 Lee wave air flow and terminology
337 Meteorological conditions
338 Wavelength
338 Amplitude
339 Moisture
340 Rotor and lenticular cloud formation
341 Shear wave
342 Thermal wave
343 The hydraulic jump
347 High altitude dangers
355 The practical aspects of wave flying
359 Wave safety
362 The effect of crosswind on ground speed
363 A practical example
365 Bands of thermal wave
366 The Morning Glory
370 Dynamic soaring

Appendices
375 A Soaring meteorology by region
393 B Human factors
vision, airsickness
403 C Safety equipment
cushions, lumbar support, chutes, FLARM
408 D Motorgliders