Cloud Flying

Does anyone still do this? It is illegal in the USA but does anyone do
it anywhere else? Be glad to have any info about articles/accounts of
people who have done this.
Also has anyone been able to climb up the sunny side of a cumulus
cloud? Read somewhere that one famous glider pilot did this and he
said it was the flight of his life.
TIA
George (ex-kestrel254)

wrote:

Does anyone still do this? It is illegal in the USA but does anyone do
it anywhere else? Be glad to have any info about articles/accounts of
people who have done this.

In Germany, too, AFAIK.

Also has anyone been able to climb up the sunny side of a cumulus
cloud? Read somewhere that one famous glider pilot did this and he
said it was the flight of his life.

I did this twice on different occasions. It isn't always the sunny side you
can climb, but the upwind one.
The first time was several years ago over a power plant with a special
cooling tower that provides great thermals. While circling around a kind of
cloud hose, another Cu showed up about 300 ft below me. Because of strong
wind that day, I flew to the upwind side of it and was able to climb a few
hundred feet above cloud level in front of the quickly building cloud.
It was very similar to ridge soaring but without fear of catching a tree or
rock.
Another time I found very different cloud base altitudes at the border of
two different masses of air. Flying from the higher cloud base in the
direction of the lower one against the wind, I found laminar lift without
seeing a cloud near me. At first, I thought I had found wave, but a Cu
built some minutes later directly below me.
I think, an important thing for trying this kind of gliding is strong wind
at the level of cloud base and strong thermals with a small diameter. The
climbing thermal then pushes a bumb into the airflow of the wind which can
be used like a ridge or wave.

I'm not a famous glider pilot but I hope to have helped.

Greetings from southern Germany, Erik.

TIA
George (ex-kestrel254)

wrote:

Does anyone still do this? It is illegal in the USA....

Do not make that assumption. It can be done legally in the USA.
Certain requirements must be met.

This has been dealt with extensively on this News Group twice in the
last year -- check the archives.


Jack

schrieb:
Also has anyone been able to climb up the sunny side of a cumulus
cloud? Read somewhere that one famous glider pilot did this and he
said it was the flight of his life.

Not only famous glider pilots. I heard some reports from some pilots in
my club.

In this document are some Information about this.
http://www.pa.op.dlr.de/ostiv/Projects/kap4.pdf
It is in written in German, but the pictures should also help you a
little. OK, you cannot see on the pictures: Cloud street waves can also
occur if sky is blue.

Andreas

On 17 Mar, 18:43, Erik Braun wrote:
wrote:
Does anyone still do this? It is illegal in the USA but does anyone do
it anywhere else? Be glad to have any info about articles/accounts of
people who have done this.

In Germany, too, AFAIK.

Also has anyone been able to climb up the sunny side of a cumulus
cloud? Read somewhere that one famous glider pilot did this and he
said it was the flight of his life.

I did this twice on different occasions. It isn't always the sunny side you
can climb, but the upwind one.
The first time was several years ago over a power plant with a special
cooling tower that provides great thermals. While circling around a kind of
cloud hose, another Cu showed up about 300 ft below me. Because of strong
wind that day, I flew to the upwind side of it and was able to climb a few
hundred feet above cloud level in front of the quickly building cloud.
It was very similar to ridge soaring but without fear of catching a tree or
rock.
Another time I found very different cloud base altitudes at the border of
two different masses of air. Flying from the higher cloud base in the
direction of the lower one against the wind, I found laminar lift without
seeing a cloud near me. At first, I thought I had found wave, but a Cu
built some minutes later directly below me.
I think, an important thing for trying this kind of gliding is strong wind
at the level of cloud base and strong thermals with a small diameter. The
climbing thermal then pushes a bumb into the airflow of the wind which can
be used like a ridge or wave.

I'm not a famous glider pilot but I hope to have helped.

Greetings from southern Germany, Erik.



TIA
George (ex-kestrel254)- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Erik
thanks for this. the occasion you mentioned where there were two
dofferent airmasses sounds like a sea-breeze front which I have only
flown once in my life. On gets theses at Lasham occasionally with one
airmass from the north and the sea air coming in from the south. IIRC
I flew figure-of-eights to stay up.
Thanks
George

On 17 Mar, 19:22, Jack wrote:
wrote:

Does anyone still do this? It is illegal in the USA....

Do not make that assumption. It can be done legally in the USA.
Certain requirements must be met.

This has been dealt with extensively on this News Group twice in the
last year -- check the archives.

Jack

Thanks jack. Will take a look
George

On Mar 17, 3:53 pm, wrote:
On 17 Mar, 19:22, Jack wrote:

wrote:

Does anyone still do this? It is illegal in the USA....

Do not make that assumption. It can be done legally in the USA.
Certain requirements must be met.

This has been dealt with extensively on this News Group twice in the
last year -- check the archives.

Jack

Thanks jack. Will take a look
George

yes, cloud flying is perfectly legal in the US. You simply have to
equip the glider in accordance with the POH (certified) or Operating
Limitation (Experimental). If the POH or Op. Lims dont allow it then
you cannot do it in that glider. Then you have to meet the currency
requirements of Part 61 and have an instrument rating in Single or
Multiengine Airplanes, or an ATP.

Shawn Knickerbocker flies clouds in Florida in his Nimbus, he
presented at the convention in Memphis and had his glider on display,
it was quite amazing. The climb rates are phenomenal, you really dont
have to spend that much time in the cloud. with 3-5k fpm climbs you
can cruise!

Erik Braun wrote:
wrote:

Also has anyone been able to climb up the sunny side of a cumulus
cloud? Read somewhere that one famous glider pilot did this and he
said it was the flight of his life.

I did this twice on different occasions. It isn't always the sunny side you
can climb, but the upwind one.

I also did this for the first time last year near Gransden Lodge at the
end of September. There was a fairly strong breeze at flying height and
good streeting. I noticed a short (1 km) spur running off one street at
right angles so had a play. I was able to get 1-200 feet up the windward
side of the spur for about 4 beats along it. I think it was transient
sheer wave because when I looked at the trace afterwards the spur was
being steadily blown downwind the whole time.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

Erik Braun schrieb:
wrote:

Does anyone still do this? It is illegal in the USA but does anyone do
it anywhere else? Be glad to have any info about articles/accounts of
people who have done this.

In Germany, too, AFAIK.

It can be done legally in Germany. You have to have a cloud flying
rating and submit a flight plan and get a DFS clearance. Your gilder has
to be equippt with some more instruments.
I know some people who have done it, even with airspace C crossings in
higher altitude after leaving the CU.

Robert

I would assume that you need to be flying IFR with all the attendant issues
(equipment, talking to ATC, etc...)

Mike

wrote in message
oups.com...
On Mar 17, 3:53 pm, wrote:
On 17 Mar, 19:22, Jack wrote:

wrote:

Does anyone still do this? It is illegal in the USA....

Do not make that assumption. It can be done legally in the USA.
Certain requirements must be met.

This has been dealt with extensively on this News Group twice in the
last year -- check the archives.

Jack

Thanks jack. Will take a look
George

yes, cloud flying is perfectly legal in the US. You simply have to
equip the glider in accordance with the POH (certified) or Operating
Limitation (Experimental). If the POH or Op. Lims dont allow it then
you cannot do it in that glider. Then you have to meet the currency
requirements of Part 61 and have an instrument rating in Single or
Multiengine Airplanes, or an ATP.

Shawn Knickerbocker flies clouds in Florida in his Nimbus, he
presented at the convention in Memphis and had his glider on display,
it was quite amazing. The climb rates are phenomenal, you really dont
have to spend that much time in the cloud. with 3-5k fpm climbs you
can cruise!




--
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