Chalk Talk -- Fundamentals, Thermals, and Mapping for paragliding

Описание: Mitch Riley gives a Saturday morning Chalk talk about the fundamentals of paragliding. He goes in depth on how to find and map thermals to a group of eager paragliding pilots. This series is being held in 2020 to help everyone become a better pilot by improving our fundamentals.

If you enjoyed this talk and it helped you get better, support Mitch. You can send him a donation(  / mitchintheair  ) or join Mitch Riley and Yassen Savov this year for a week long paragliding XC tour in Sophia, Bulgaria. There will be an emphasis on thermal/XC coaching with a small coach/client ratio. This is an all inclusive trip. Contact Mitch at [email protected] for more details on this excellent XC paragliding tour or to support him.

Notes from the presentation:

500ft above launch most important, fighting for survival
BTW, reminder: supposed to leave thermals 500ft below cloudbase.

Rule of thumb: 3 seconds of lift before starting to do 360s.
Are you going on the upwind or downwind side? Less than 3 seconds OK for upwind. But if going into wind, can wait longer to map thermal more and because penalty is smaller.
A lot of penalty for going too early, esp if going against wind.

Which way to turn?
1. Ground clearance: always stay at least 400ft above ground. So turn away from mountain (or do figure-8-s)
2. Follow the flow. asymetric motions in glider telling you where to go (tugging towards the thermal). Pitch matters too (?)
3. Into the wind (strongest core will trend towards upwind, and that's the side that has the least penalty for falling out).
Unless your objective is downwind, want to go downwind as little as possible

Upwind side is more organized air.
Can feel draw within the thermal as well, as approach core
Want only "Communication pressure" on breaks. Finess. Weight-shift to the extent possible rather than using brakes (except when necessary). (Also get less tossed around with less breaks, beyond surge control).
Also: want to hold breaks in line with the risers, rather than outstretched outside hand.
Smooth constant 360s is how to get best information. (Drifting is OK, but near-perfect circles rather than tangle of yarn)
Instead of making immediate changes in circle radius, make small predictable changes on opposite side of where felt most lift.
Rule of thumb from a book: "A perfect 360 is 16 seconds". Though Mitch says his are often a little faster (narrower).
Small weak cores are the hardest because can't get full 360s.
Re. Old guidance: "slow the glider down as you get into thermal" (partially because older design of paragliders). Min-sink: 4lbs of pressure. Concept is not wrong, but problem is less authority over glider, and newer paragliders are pretty good at sink rate anyway (and we're also not as fast as hang-gliders/sailplanes). Mitch doesn't do it. World-championships etc they don't do it.
Thermalling with other people: mental mapping is easier.
If someone else is outclimbing you (or even equal), get over there. Two will work better together anyway.
Pilot below you or within 300ft above you is usable; someone far above not as much.
If they're going up compared to you, imagine there's a 20' streamer behind them and go there to extend circle. If sinking, aim right at the person, to cut off the sinky part from your circle.
Basics:
Turn with same direction as those who were already there.
Join on side where see people's backs. Slide in.
Turn with them at same radius (be considerate!)
Generally take thermals all the way to the top (to cloudbase)

Cloud street: (a little more fuzzy on the note-taking here...):
If convergence zone
Growth (rising air) side whiter, concave
Decay side grayer, less defined.
Wind
Upwind side of cloud is better side of cloud (better defined, growing).