You won't believe

[chainick]

I saw empty garbage bag thermalling slowly at about 100 ft. I don't know how did it get there but it was sure well centered in thermal and drifting up and up untill it drifted far enough I couldn't see it from where I was.

[Ollie]

It is amazing to me about how many poeple itch for upgraded their planes without seeing signs of thermals around them. It is amazing to me about how many poeple itch for upgraded their planes without seeing how their old planes flew through thermals.

[Tuomo]

It is amazing to me about how many poeple itch for upgraded their planes without seeing signs of thermals around them. It is amazing to me about how many poeple itch for upgraded their planes without seeing how their old planes flew through thermals.

I agree with Ollie, almost any plane will thermall if flown well. However, why use the old RES design from 1970s when there are so much better planes around.

It is so nice to have a proper "tool" when hunting for thermals. The modern moldies in paticular are very good investments because they perform well also in windy weather.

This is our hobby and we do it for fun and enjoyment. Why compromise if you can afford a better plane :rolleyes:

[WimH]

Why compromise if you can afford a better plane :rolleyes:

Define "better".

I prefer thermalling over any other flying ( not that I am much good, but the learning in itself is part of the challenge).I do not have very good vision, so I have to stay in close anyway. I much prefer flying a simple rudder-elevator glider in these conditions.

[Ollie]

OK,
It is amazing to me about how many poeple itch for upgraded their planes without seeing how their planes flew through thermals.

[Tuomo]

Define "better".

I prefer thermalling over any other flying ( not that I am much good, but the learning in itself is part of the challenge).I do not have very good vision, so I have to stay in close anyway. I much prefer flying a simple rudder-elevator glider in these conditions.

Better = better penetration, wider speed range, stronger structure thanks to high tech materials...

I know what you mean when mentioning simple RES glider but I can tell you they are not all the same. I learned this when I started flying Ava. I would say it has all the plusses of the older floater desing with plenty of improvements in the areas I mentioned above.

Still "better" examples of what I mean by "better" gliders are modern molded F3J ships. They are robust and very easy to fly even in less than ideal conditions. Thanks to the wide speed range of a f3J plane, you can also learn a lot about the weather and thermals when flying them. You are not anymore stuck to that thermal upwind or above you. Following that weak thermal far downwind is fun and exciting -- and in many conditions it is the only way to stay up.

But it is true what you say about vision. Maybe after the next step-up in glider performance we need radars for spotting the planes :cool: But still I think technolygy is fun and exciting and there is nothing inherently wrong in making a glider fly better...

EDIT To Ollie. I think also those not-so-good pilots have the right to fly better performing planes. It is not morally wrong to invest in a hobby when trying to lean about it. Personally I remember quite well when the S3021 came and revolutionised my flying. To me this paticular airfoil made thermalling more interesting. Recently I seen a similar step up with the molded planes.

[John Gallagher]

The big problem is that a lot of people look at having a full house ship as a status symbol. Beginners are made to feel that they need full house to thermal, when they'd be better off flying a more easily flown and less complicated ship. A beginners time is better spent learning to thermal.

[Yardbird]

Ok good info here.

I'm still learning using a polyhedral RE only. When it teaches me all it can I will upgrade. I guess the next step up is what? Full house? F3J?

I already lost one to a boomer, and they're cheap to replace. :o

[TThroop]

Getting back to the original posting on this thread. I fly at the Poway thermal field of the Torrey Pines Gulls. After one of our contests was over for the day, approximately 1:00pm, one of our out of town competitors showed us some real thermals. He had the trash bag liner material that was not properly made, they forgot to perforate and seal for the individual bags. He cut off a section of material 15 feet long and tied off one end. Took it down to the far end of the winch lines and inflated it, then tied off the other end of the bag. He waited for a thermal to pass by and shoved the "sausage" into the thermal. It floated down the winch lines getting no more than 15-20 feet off of the ground the whole time. It continued past the winches and at a treeline, the thermal tripped and broke away taking the sausage with it. We watched it climb in the thermal for over a half hour. At one point it was heading east and close to 1500 feet in the air and about a mile downwind. Then it hit another shear layer and was heading back west. It was easy to watch it because of size and color, black, but in the air with the sun shining on it, it was silver color.

Terry Throop

[nuevo]

I wish I had been there to see it. Reminds me of comments about thin plastic "parachutes" in Dave Thornburg's book and Thermal Hunting.

The observed behavior of the sausage matches my mental model of thermal behavior.

Amazing !!

[D_Ryan]

While spectating at a round of the F3J Eurotour some years ago (late 90's)(Babenhausen, GE. I think) I watched numerous pieces of 8.5 x 11 paper (actually A4, this was Europe you know) get pulled up from the scorers tent, and quickly go out of site.

Because there were multiple sheets, you could readily observe the approximate size/shape of the thermal. Of course this all took place at a break between rounds, so no one was able to take advantage of this thermal "sign".

r/
Dave

[Tuomo]

Loggers like Alti2 are nice. This spring I have loged many times my glider rising 2-3m/s even n relatively low altitudes like 75-100m. Strongest thermal I have encountered this spring was steady 6m/s in 400-500m altitude.

[TLyttle]

In the 60s, there was an article explaining how to tape light plastic into a "thermal bag", to be launched from the ground. They would simply disappear... Best launch site was a parking lot around noon; the point, I believe, was to show exactly when the best launch time (lunch time?) by noting wind direction and strength, and feeling the air temp around you.

I still fly rudder/elevator (no spoilers) strictly for the pure joy of it. Around here, thermals are everywhere; we lose even the simplest rubber models frequently, using some of the lessons learned by the bags.

[Sparky Paul]

Many many of the UFO reports are nothing more than empty trash bags thermalling.
Our club field is downwind of the municipal dump, and we see these things going up all the time.
Those UFOs in the video from Mexico City are obviously trash bags circling in a thermal, for instance..
But as so few people actually look up, when they do what they see is unfamiliar, and they have no references to relate what they see to.

[RapidRaptor]

One of my old club buddies was practicing a parachute drop for an upcoming event last year. On the first try he released the chute and it drifted slowly down moving with the slight breeze present. On the second attempt he released the chute right into the core of a thermal and when we lost sight of it some 1000 m down wind it was still climbing. His next parachute had a few holes at the apex to prevent a repeat performance!

[2motheus]

One of the reasons the black garbage bag material "thermals" so well when formed into a big sealed tube is due to expansion of the air in the bag, not necessarily thermal activity. Especially if it's sunny, the dark bag will be warmer than the air around and will become less dense. It this case it begins to behave like a helium balloon, rising regardless of whether or not there's a thermal in the area.

[histarter]

;) The few flying garbage bags in Texas were "created" by welders - filling the bag with gas, tying them off, and then letting them float out of the shop.