Thermal flying

When the sun warms the ground, it will warm some features more than others such as rock faces or large buildings, and these set off thermals which rise through the air. Sometimes these may be a simple rising column of air; more often, they are blown sideways in the wind and will break off from the source, with a new thermal forming later.

Once a pilot finds a thermal, he or she begins to fly in a circle, trying to center the circle on the strongest part of the thermal the core, where the air is rising the fastest. Most pilots use a vario altimeter vario, which indicates climb rate with beeps and or a visual display, to help core in on a thermal.Often there is strong sink surrounding thermals, and there is also strong turbulence resulting in wing collapses as a pilot tries to enter a strong thermal. Good thermal flying is a skill that takes time to learn, but a good pilot can often core a thermal all the way to cloud base.