thermal detector?

Thermals are so dynamic that detecting them beyond a 1000 meters or so
won't be terribly useful. *They'll just dissipate before you can get
there. *You can play this game in Condor Competition Flight Simulator
but setting the thermal visibility to various ranges. *Heading off for
a thermal in the distance doesn't work.

??? 1000 meters is less than a minute away. I haven't flown many
places, but the thermals in the desert southwest hang around long
enough that a kilometer range would be quite useful. I think longer
would be better.

On Feb 5, 8:40*am, Uncle Fuzzy wrote:
Thermals are so dynamic that detecting them beyond a 1000 meters or so
won't be terribly useful. *They'll just dissipate before you can get
there. *You can play this game in Condor Competition Flight Simulator
but setting the thermal visibility to various ranges. *Heading off for
a thermal in the distance doesn't work.

??? 1000 meters is less than a minute away. *I haven't flown many
places, but the thermals in the desert southwest hang around long
enough that a kilometer range would be quite useful. *I think longer
would be better.

Just my clumsy way of saying that the biggest benefits of thermal
detection will be at shortest ranges. Long range detection would show
hot spots where thermals are popping consistently but not the actual
thermal you will find when you get there.

As I say, go play with Condor. Set the thermal to be visible but set
the range to the minimum. You'll see what I mean.

On Feb 5, 8:12*am, bildan wrote:
Just my clumsy way of saying that the biggest benefits of thermal
detection will be at shortest ranges. *Long range detection would show
hot spots where thermals are popping consistently but not the actual
thermal you will find when you get there.

Hmm...

On MANY occasions, I've spotted a dust devil a few miles ahead, and
while keeping it in sight the whole time (many minutes), I manage to
connect and climb away. It's usually best to arrive within a few
thousand feet as it's easier to figure out where to hit it.

But I agree that a range of a kilometer or so would be most useful for
dolphin flying.

-Tom

On Feb 6, 2:05*pm, 5Z wrote:
On Feb 5, 8:12*am, bildan wrote:

Just my clumsy way of saying that the biggest benefits of thermal
detection will be at shortest ranges. *Long range detection would show
hot spots where thermals are popping consistently but not the actual
thermal you will find when you get there.

Hmm...

On MANY occasions, I've spotted a dust devil a few miles ahead, and
while keeping it in sight the whole time (many minutes), I manage to
connect and climb away. *It's usually best to arrive within a few
thousand feet as it's easier to figure out where to hit it.

But I agree that a range of a kilometer or so would be most useful for
dolphin flying.

-Tom

Well, Tom, there's one certain thing about thermals - there's all
kinds of them. Somewhere in the world there's probably a thermal that
lasts for hours. Most thermals last only a few minutes.

I'd take a range of 100 meters and bet that's good enough for a 20%
improvement in XC speed. I'd have to think about whether extending
that range to 1000 meters would do as much.

BTW, what's the deal with your '26's water pump?