How glider pilots use thermal lift
This short video illustrates the principles of thermal lift and talks about how glider pilots can stay airborne for hours by convection and harvesting natural resources to sustain flight. Thermals are columns of rising air that are formed on the ground through the warming of the surface by sunlight. If the air contains enough moisture, the water will condense from the rising air and form cumulus...
Sometimes Two Heads are Not Better Than One
Soon after I got my PPL(A), back in the dark ages, flying friends suggested that I pair up with another recently qualified pilot. That way, they said, we could share the cost, and also benefit from each other’s experience. One could fly, while the other did the navigation and radio; then we would swap for the next flight. Half the cost, half the work, twice the fun, they told me. A well tried and tested way of gaining...
