[Beerwiser]

Hey guys, I have been playing with my easy star a fair amount as I wait on heli parts and am wondering what to look for when it comes to thermals. I don't have much for hills just soughs and trees. What should I expect from the plane when I find a thermal or what do I look for in the planes behavior? I did have the plane do all kinds of dives and other odd behavior, but I was quite a ways out (had my glasses on lol) close to a big slough and I am not sure if it was a thermal or just a brown out. If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be much appreciated, either way I am having a blast with this plane and would recommend it to anyone who wants a nice relaxing flight when there are no kids around. Take care and happy mothers day.

Ted

[mark_]

Watch for birds circling...head there.
When you're hunting,when near a thermal, the plane will often bank away from the thermal, as the rising air will lift one wing.

[ddruck]

Here is a good read on RC Groups:
Learning to Thermal with electric Foam gliders :

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1371863

To begin your training with electric glider, even Easy Star, climb high on worm day, best in the afternoon, at least noon. Once as high as you dare, cut the motor and start flying smooth and level do some large circles and watch the plane for sudden unplanned moves, nose up, nose down, wing lifts and sudden turn, usually best is to turn opposite into the possible lift. Plane can speed up suddenly also. Check your area looking for tree lines, worm roofs, black road surfaces. The reason I said to start high is usually thermals get larger higher you go and are easier to recognize. try not to fly directly over your head, it is hard to tell what the plane is doing. The windier a day is the faster thermals drift downwind, and as Mark said watch birds. Eventually you will need something better then Easy Star, Radian (original not pro ) is an excellent trainer to begin with.
Basically, that is how I started and I am still learning, it is an endless learning curve, but the day you hook your first boomer it is magic!
Dan

[TLyttle]

One might also look for one of Dave Thornberg's books. You will learn more about thermals from that purchase than any other source.

Thermals are a real blast! Many times I have turned my Gentle Lady or OlyII into a little X overhead... Lots of stuff to watch for: birds, yes, even the sparrows are looking for bugs that are being lifted out of the grass... in an thermal. Hawks are more visible, and they are plentiful in Alberta; I can't remember a day going by without seeing a red-tail hanging over the landscape there... in a thermal.

Look for a dark cloud nearby, under it is going to be a thermal; just DON'T go into the cloud, chaff will be the next thing you see!

Not sure where Mundare is, but there are lots of good slope sites near the mountains. Slope gives you lots of time to figure out what your airplane is trying to tell you, and fact is, your airplane is doing exactly that. It is up to you to recognise what it is trying to say.

As Dan says, the first boomer is magic: better yet, the magic never fades. I have chased thermals for almost 40 years, and it is still worth the effort for me!

[Beerwiser]

Well, I don't have any mountains near by, a few gopher holes thats it lol. I did follow the geese and yup worked like a charm right out of radio range . Good thing is no damage which is so great! I have to do more reading on the link that ddruck posted, but I do have a question on the radian. Would ailerons not be beneficial? I am seriously considering upgrading as I didn't think I would have this much fun with a glider. Also is it still possible to stick a camera to the radian?

Cheers
Ted

[ddruck]

Ailerons are beneficial with flaps when you learn how to chase thermals and want to squeeze extra performance out of your glider, most of these machines are full, hands on and must be flown all the time. Radian can fly itself and is extremely stable giving you a chance to study thermals and the effects on the plane, rather then constantly correcting the glider. It can fly easily up to 20km/h winds and yes it can carry a camera, I take my GoPro Hero up sometimes on it but since then I built a dedicated machine out of a Easy Glider just for video.
Dan

[Jan Blom]

I found apiece of stiff tape added to the rudder for more control area to be a big help. A cool or cold morning ( 0-4C ) with a sunny warm or hot afternoon ( 16+C) = great lift usually going by 11 am, sometimes earlier. If you're running a brushless make sure the prop brake works, a freewheeling prop will kill your soaring.

[OLD PRAIRIE RED NECK]

Ailerons in my opinion are not desirable on a thermal glider 3 meter W.S. or less for 2 reasons. #1 they add weight, thermalling is a true weight vs lift exersize, lighter gliders respond to lighter lift. #2 Ailerons are usually associated with less dihedral making the glider less laterally stable. Meaning, you have to be on the sticks constantly re-leveling the wings. That's ok close to the ground but get it in a thermal at 500 ft or more & you can't see it good enough to keep it level & the lift gets more & more violent! A recipe for keeping you very busy!
Bigger gliders - not so much an issue.

[ThomasLee]

I would have to disagree: Weight is not the biggest issue with gliders, modern gliders are designed to fly faster than previous generations. Optimization is typically for L/D rather than minimum sink. To keep the plane still able to read light lift, the extremities need to be lighter, that's true enough.
Turning with rudder creates a lot of drag because it is basically yawing the plane (planes do not turn by yaw) and forcing it to roll with the excessive dihedral. Ailerons use the least amount of drag to turn the plane efficiently by banking the plane. Flaps are also very important because of their optimization of camber for different speeds and conditions.

My own experiences have been with 1.5 meter F3K gliders.
I can make a sweeping generalized statement to say weight has taken the back seat over speed and drag reduction on *all* high-end (and even non-high-end) DLGs.

And I have no idea why my sentences are sounding so choppy tonight :P

[OLD PRAIRIE RED NECK]

Thomas, I respect what you are saying & the level of skill you have achieved but I believe the thread was about small "entry level" thermal gliders flown by beginner glider pilots. Your 1.5 meter glass, Kevlar & carbon fiber state of the art competition gliders, while very efficient flown by an expert such as yourself, would likely prove more than a hand full for a beginner.
My comments were in that context.
Hope I didn't offend you, just wanted to point that out!