Paragliding XC Secrets: How To Find The First Thermal

Going XC is all very well, but you have to find the first thermal, right? Here Flybubble Team Pilot Phil Clark demonstrates the fine art of narrowing the search down to the hook the core. The uncut footage allows you to see the pilot's inputs in all stages of the search.
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[@PhilbyFavourites]

Ahh if only I’d known this in 1993….. at The Blorenge. More importantly at Harting Hill on the other end of the South Downs where a few top to bottoms straight through whatever lift existed told me that Hang Gliding was a sport that needed more skill than I could bring to the party….

[@comsol2008]

Great video. What I also noticed is that even though there were other pilots higher up Phil did not leave his own line of lift to go chasing. He stuck with what he knew and persisted until he got into that core. I think that is an important point when you first start looking for lift.

[@biljanamavrak4453]

Pravi trenutak za dobru muzičku stvar

[@Nolast12503]

Thanks Phil! Love these videos, every time I re-visit these a few months later I get even more out of it than the time before. As my skills start to build, and my knowledge I notice more and more of the subtle things you are doing to find that core. Worth coming back to.

[@zakhargraves2439]

Excellent presentation Gentleman. Good work with the video with data and narration and excellent remarks from Phil in the comments. It is especially great to see expertise in the things that are not mentioned and the constant emphasis on safety. I think your videos are a great asset to the flying community. Keep them coming.

[@fillpg]

Thank you for the feedback Zak, Yes, it's often overlooked but safety is so fundamentally important. It means you can go flying tomorrow as well as today!!!

[@MrGoMario]

Very good thermalling video! Able to see the real time video feed, vario/climbing rate and the track while at the same time explaining what is happening! Well done...

[@Bob_just_Bob]

I gave it a thumbs up but a little narration edited in after would've made it a lot better.

[@jambojambo313]

I remember, I sold my fridge in order to pay for my 1st glider - those were the days :)

[@mitchsmith71]

If only I could do that today!! DOH!!

[@andyward7244]

Awesome. These videos are really helping my XC flying. Thanks, and keep 'em coming.

[@brunuperez]

good! where is this place ? I suggest to you always put this information.. It is a really important information for us, flyers.. thanks Very much for your vídeos. they are really good

[@paraballooner]

Very nice video Flybubble, many thanks!!! Could you make an instructional video of how you find the best line of lift/glide/next thermal? I have no problem now with climbing out, but then usually I don`t get far after I leave the first lift.

[@paraballooner]

Nice, looking forward to that!

[@tyroleanparagliding7324]

Awesome video, nice to watch.

[@rbtburzynski]

That was good and interesting compilation of true flight and virtual visual vario Thanks.

[@minihoughton7104]

Really good Chanel! Subbed, keep up the good work

[@micinv2072]

Nice video and well explained. Thanks!

[@vizlerandras]

Great video guys! How did you visualize the GPS and vario data? Cool!

[@fillpg]

thanks, we had the igc file and tied it with some software, there's a few available depending on system set-up and editing package (not sure of specific details as I only did the flying & comments for this one)

[@NGC1433]

I should have watched this video right before I went to fly Ushkonyr last weekend. Failed miserably trying to accomplish just that. Find my way to stronger lift... Damn, I could`ve wached it right there at a takeoff just before pulling my A`s... :D Thank`s a lot for informative videos!

[@MrFalcon195]

Awesome video! Thank you.

[@VonMaximo]

Very inspirational flying! :-)

[@lamilumag]

very nice film - thank you! impressive channel!

[@MrNagylzs]

Very helpful!

[@joshs1uk]

Awesome video, what camera rig is it that you used? Im guessing go pro but that mount?!

[@MadMiniCooper]

Hi Phil, Nice video. very instructive. Keep it up. BTW, what do you use to attach the camera to the harness? Cheers

[@fillpg]

cheers! it was a Flytec mount on the carabiner, an Accessory Hero twist-lock, telescopic pole with it's ball head replaced by the tripod mount and some 3axis extension pieces from GoPro you need to unscrew the lanyard / leash from the pole so you can screw the fat end of the pole onto the Flytec mount, the longer the pole is, the better the shot you get but it does come with more wobble and shake when it's rough bits at either end from Flybubble, pole in the middle from Accessory Hero hth, Px

[@ManuelClemente]

Very nice Vid, could you please tell me what program and gps do you use for telemetry? I recomend Dashware.

[@JulioBarrancoGalaviz]

Hey what type or brand of helmet do you have? Its awesome!

[@rowill2968]

Makes it look so easy :)

[@arte_di_Tiziano]

Bravi veramente un bel video! complimenti per il volo :-)

[@OptimumFred]

Très bien ces videos expliquées.

[@AlexandrePontoire]

Pas simple de centrer le thermique !!!!

[@OptimumFred]

Surtout en anglais 😄.Il faut le vivre pour le comprendre je pense, c'est comme ton pilotage actif.

[@petterandersson7429]

eXtra nice editing. An altimeter reading would have been nice but really excellent

[@BlueSkys73]

nice work!

[@DrDennis]

Do you guys wear a reserve for emergencies?

[@srutiraju]

Awesome instruction. Now how do we get those nice puffy clouds? ;) lol

[@trulsvian]

I got afraid when i hit some updraft and gained just a few meters, but stil early in the course. Hope to get used to the hight fast, any tips?

[@fillpg]

experience and exposure will help you, take small steps and work steadily towards your goal, share your experience with others at the same stage (this can be applied to many new things) this is an amazing sport but like all the best things in this world it takes time, effort and devotion to really reap the rewards - good luck, Px

[@jamesm.7019]

Phil Clark

[@benjaminseeberger5100]

what wing is this?

[@anachk]

Thank u very much

[@greghamerton4422]

You're welcome. I hope you find more thermals!

[@skyjack1ifly]

Cool!

[@Sandroidus]

Heeey ?? I've just started enjoying...

[@mattiasvandamme2692]

Nice

[@hemzadoukali7642]

wow coooool

[@Keyakina]

what is that beeping?

[@МаксимБыков-ю7й]

What model of rescue parachute? Beamer?

[@fillpg]

Sup Air (light)

[@xvalniko]

nice nice

[@coinmarketswot3264]

what is that peep sound?

[@jozefbiel1522]

👍

[@mcenet]

What secret ???

[@htamerursavas]

Thats not the fine art :D You missed the lift many times till the 3 m/s updraft sucks you to the core... Crowded enviroment had distracted you i think. These post-thermal or lee of the thermal bubbles not only exists in the ridge but all thermals have the same phenomen. Once you find one you have to take the exact wind line to the first triger point and find the continious lift.

[@fillpg]

Thanks for your comments H.Tamer With one camera facing backwards you will never see what I see on the day, nor will it be possible to feel what I have in the harness or handles. The viewer also has the benefit of hindsight, as well as that different perspective ;-) What I was trying to illustrate here was the patience in working to consolidate your position, I had been asked on a number of occasions how I climb out and this was just one example of it, taken this particular day. (you can see another example from a different site on my vimeo if you like, it's called 'Climbing Out' on vimeo.com/FillC but there's no commentary) I tried to ensure my comments were not glider specific, but they are geared to UK conditions. Rushing to aggressively turn too soon rarely works out well in the UK conditions and too many times pilots 360 too close to the hill or fall out the back of the climb. Pushing upwind and out from the hill are key factors in successfully climbing away from, what is effectively, a shallow field. I knew the lift would be further developed to the left of me but was restricted by traffic (and site rule) from an immediate turn to my left, but pushing out meant I had more air underneath me and this was more desirable than following the ridge. I was content to stay on the right hand edge, but still within the area, of the thermal lift initially. Particularly given the topless HG that was flying underneath me! If you don't know the site I am initially flying between 60 - 80m over flat, southern UK, farmland in a relatively early part of the solar day. Whilst convection has clearly developed above, the 45 degree sloped, NW facing ridge behind me is not yet consistently soarable, despite a perfect wind direction and we are currently at the very lowest part of the convective layer. Typically in my experience, thermals in this boundary / ground layer are weak, broken and consisting of multiple cores for the first 200 - 300m, I also find thermals have an inertia and do not travel with the meteo wind and this was another point I had hoped to demonstrate. You can see from the track that I push more 'upwind' than 'left' to find the stronger lift. Thermals will also have an inflow and will distort the wind direction in lighter wind conditions too. How your glider behaves and reacts to this will vary and what works for one will not be so effective for another. The Cu you see in the footage were at something like 1,800m so have no bearing at this altitude apart from the potential shadow triggering release. It is very rare for UK thermals to continuously stream from a reliable source, there are often parts of a ridge or ground feature that trigger more consistently (at 2:11 you can see the change in crop that is upwind of the ridge, which is possibly triggering here) but you would still find only pulses of lift compared to the steady stream that you would expect from a spine in the mountains. My 'mountain' thermal technique is very different, as is my approach to flying when I am 10 degrees closer to the equator, but thank you for taking the time to watch and comment, I'm glad you liked it! I hope you (& others) find this expansion useful, thank you for making me think.

[@vizy5886]

Wanna to fly(( But don't have enoght money.... Can u give me a present Flybubble Paragliding?