On May 31, 8:42*pm, T wrote:
On May 31, 6:10*pm, "noel.wade" wrote:









On May 31, 5:49*pm, Tom Claffey wrote:

Thermalling should be taught from first lesson! Basic crosscountry theory
and short flights before solo!!
Tom

At the risk of sounding bitter: *This can only be done if your club's
instructors know HOW to go cross-country, care about doing so, and if
they've practiced thermalling within recent history. In my club out of
about 12 instructors on the roster there are only 2 that I know of
who've done even a single cross-country flight or any extended soaring
(i.e. thermalling) in the last 3+ years.

*sigh*

--Noel
P.S. *I'm not implying that they're bad instructors (I actually quite
like most of them); they're just all to the point where teaching stick-
and-rudder basics is all they seem to have the energy for anymore...

Our normal training season is winter, Oct to Apr.
I plan about 3000ft tows for the first few flights, basic flight
control of maintaining wings level and pitch/speed control.
Then we graduate to 4000ft tows to have altitude for stalls and steep
turns. By this time the student is learning to fly on tow and may need
a short rest on the way up, then take over again for the release from
tow procedures.

If the wind and local ridge agree, we start learning ridge soaring,
and as spring comes, thermals.
As the student gets closer to solo, pattern tows, 5 or 6 in a row.
Any lesson, time in the glider, much over an hour, the student has
max'd the learning window. He is burnt out.
Each one hour lesson may involve at least 2 tows to 3000 and a pattern
tow for an extra landing, rope break training or other PTT with
abbreviated traffic patterns.

Getting off at 2000ft and trying to learn thermaling to get higher for
stalls and steep turns is too much for the new student. With spring
thermals, the air work is reviewed and we concentrate on getting away
from the field and getting back. Every flight from lesson one is, can
I get back from here. We'll also include a forced out landing and have
the tow plane come retrieve us. (If the lake bed is dry)

T

I should add more, in consideration of the OP concern about landing,
getting back in the launch cue and spending all day to get three
flights.

We are a smallish club. Primary students fly in the morning, first
come first served, get your name on the list.
We allocate 1hr with the glider, plan your pre-post briefings outside
that hour. We can get at least 2 high tows and a pattern in that hour.

During XC season, the students fly training, all the XC birds line up
for launch. When the "trigger" is set, normally a CFI with a student
will report active thermals and relative strength, it's time to launch
the XC birds and traing tows stop.

Once the XC birds are launched, training tows can resume. Normally the
CFI that reports "Launch the Fleet!" will attempt to stay aloft with
the student while the private birds launch.

Normally one tow plane can keep two training birds going with
alternating tows and no waiting during the training windows.

T