"BJen" wrote in message
...

Below 1000' my mental state may switch to "not landing" as I
start a turn in lift, but if it's going to change back, I
almost always know within seconds of starting the turn.
Mentally, I may have recommitted to "landing" while still
turning away from the runway. Again I get a great view of
the pattern. Somewhere between 800' and 600' my gear comes
out, and any lift I check will cause me to retract the gear.

As I turn downwind to base, I'm still hoping to be able to
make that turn a 360 deg. thermal turn. As I roll out,
unless lift hits me strongly (and it has, more than once), I
make the final, irrevocable commitment to land, double check
gear down and land.


Isn't switching mental state so low to the ground a safety issue
in its own right, regardless of the impact it might have on others?

One of the dangerous parts of Instrument flying is the mental
switching between flying 'on instruments' and 'on visual' when
shooting an ILS down to minimums. Quite a few accidents have
been caused by disorientation when switching mental gears
in patchy low-level clouds -- it takes people a few seconds to
adjust & one has to be quite sure what you are planning to do
(that is, stay 'on instruments' until you're guaranteed a continuous
visual so you don't have to change gears again).

I'm no glider pilot, but I'd have thought the same psychological
issues might be relevant here. Is it just you that change mental
state so low to the ground, or is it common practice.

Not trying to be confrontational. Just interested.