Bill Daniels wrote:

A "glide footprint" shows clearly how to cross a mountain range since it
computes glide distance in all directions. The courseline may happen to
cross the range at a high peak so a list type display will show the goal as
unreachable but the "glide footprint" will show that a slight change in
course will easily clear the terrain.

I can use that feature!


There is also the case where known lift is available in the distance -
perhaps from good clouds or from radio chatter coming from other pilots. If
this area isn't near an airport, list displays aren't useful. With a glide
footprint it's easy to see when the lift is reachable.

Actually, this is something I've really wanted, but hadn't thought about
how a glide footprint would help.

Then there's
landable terrain that isn't in the airport database. Just knowing that good
landout options are reachable reduces stress and allows the pilot to
concentrate on the task.

I reduce my stress by carrying an "iron thermal"! But your other points
are well chosen, and I like the idea. I've informed SeeYou it's now on
my wish list.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org