SimpleAirmap, UK Flying Notes

Preparation

  1. Check Notams
  2. Try to sleep well the night before.
  3. Take lots of clothes
  4. Take food that you can eat on route

On The Hill

  1. Remind yourself of the airspace

Getting Away From The Hill

  1. Go for a broad thermal - its is more likely to get you away from the hill than a strong bullet
  2. Try turning early initially at the beginning, just to get into thermal.
  3. Be as ready as you can: fly if you can, clipped in and watching otherwise
  4. When it is really windy, wait till a lull and head out, the thermal will be in front.
  5. Note the angle that the first thermal takes you up at, use it when heading for clouds.
  6. Ridge soar then when you get lift head away from hill into wind

On The Flight

  1. The start of any flight is the most likely time to bomb out, so always spend time in the first cloud letting the day mature and making sure that your first transition will work.
  2. Use shadows on the ground to spot cloud streets and bad clouds
  3. Strong Sink: Be prepared to change your mind about where you're going when you hit big sink
  4. Never leave lifting air unless you have something to head for.
  5. Avoid clouds with dark tendrils dangling from them, they are sea breeze
  6. The tops of the clouds are important: crisp means developing, fuzzy means declining
  7. Never stop concentrating, do not do fiddle with things including clothing.

Flying with others

  1. Only follow people when you understand what they are doing
  2. If you choose to fly in a gaggle, don't be the last to leave the thermal if you have good height, you will end up struggling to keep up

Avoiding Airspace

  1. Can you fly over it?
  2. Consider flying almost upwind to avoid it, rather than to a blue hole