How NOT to race gliders in the Mountains!

[@Johan-ex5yj]

On a Logical level: Small punchy thermals hard to turn in, can’t get high enough to go faster, a bit frustrating while you’re doing the task. On an Emotional level: Wow, those mountains are intimidating and exhilarating at the same time, giving rise to fear and excitement all in one glorious mix! In short; WHAT AN ADVENTURE! 😃 👍 Thanks for sharing your adventure with us, Tim.

[@PureGlide]

It’s funny when I’m racing, every once and a while I take a moment to think just how awesome the whole thing is. It’s easy to forget while we are focussed on racing!

[@Johan-ex5yj]

@@PureGlide That’s exactly right! I do hope to soar in the mountains like that someday soon. I did have a bit of a taste of it with Paragliding, but this is NEXT LEVEL, stuff!

[@colinkellynz]

Pretty impressive if that’s you bad day Tim. Thanks for sharing.

[@PureGlide]

Haha true, thanks!

[@LSVFlachkurbler]

If I may say something without trying to sound super wise: in these conditions you have to trust more on the terrain and less on the clouds. I saw you trying on some cloud fragments that in my opinion had been created on some ridge and then blown away. Also, I would maybe begin a turn 1-2 seconds earlier than you do, but I do not know your vario delay of course. If the turn then shows no further punch, then stop it and straighten out. Better than to wait to long and be behind the thermal.

[@PureGlide]

Yeah agree completely, my flying in the North Island is 90% focussed on the clouds, and I carried that south too. Same with the turning on the vario, I tend to do that later under thermals. Towards the end of the trip I started figuring it all out :)

[@ttaylor7777]

Beautiful scenery. I agree, mountain flying is 50 to 60% following the terrain. Also, need to be much closer to the upwind side of the ridges. Mountain thermals are much smaller, turning sooner and more aggressively will allow you to center them. We tend to task plan to fly with the ridges and only cross between ridges perpendicularly, not at an angle.

[@MrAlexrowlands]

I was going to say a similar thing about your flying. In some of those small strong thermals you werent staying in I would pull hard and early to slow, aggressively get a wing down , then pull again to tighten into the thermal. It's not 'efficient' but its the only way to stay in a tight powerful mountain thermal. And yes look at the terrain more than the clouds. I was shouting 'go to that peak' at one point, when you were failing to thermal and there was a cracking pyramidal peak just off to your left ! Love to fly NZ, flown the Pyrenees which are great.

[@PureGlide]

​@@MrAlexrowlands Hi thanks I completely agree! I had the same thoughts re watching this after a couple of months of mountain flying. And agreed I needed to be more aggressive in the thermals, although have to be a little careful in this particular glider as pulling too hard can induce a high speed stall as I found out in some testing! It drops a wing real quick. Thanks for the comment! Cheers

[@MrAlexrowlands]

@@PureGlide Buy a Duo 🤣

[@darrylldodson6623]

All your videos have been excellent! Your stress level on this one really came through. Can't believe you're comfortable low (1-2,000 feet) especially in winter on the North island. As 250hr glider pilot it always surprises me to see such skilled pilots turning final below 200' especially when commenting on it being windy/gusty day. Please stay safe even at the home field!

[@PureGlide]

Thank you so much! And yes should be turning onto finals 500' AGL at least :)

[@Firefox131]

Thanks! They played the “home” field advantage on you. Enjoyed it anyway.

[@PureGlide]

Cheers!

[@francoispretorius9680]

Totally a brilliant video, by explaining and talking you manage to give me a 'introductory flight" to mountain soaring well done !

[@PureGlide]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Zwiesel66]

I am not a glider pilot, but your video gives a good impression how challenging and frightening this mountain terrain is.

[@PureGlide]

Thank you. Thankfully I wasn’t actually frightened this flight, as I was able to stay high and there were always landing options available, despite what it looked like!

[@onthemoney7237]

That was scariest glide I’ve seen on KZbin half way through I had to check to see if you made any more videos after that wow !

[@PureGlide]

Haha oh yes, funny I don’t remember it being scary! It’s all relative I guess :)

[@alexholswilder7025]

Great video! Watched it from the beginning to the end. Thanks for your commentary and editing. Looking forward to the next video!

[@PureGlide]

Awesome, thank you!

[@TheSoaringChannel]

It takes true confidence to be able to share extensively a flight not done "right". It takes even more to preface it with the mistakes made. I can't wait to watch this to the end (I'll be doing this in the morning).

[@PureGlide]

Hey thanks, well it’s very rare to make the perfect flight! I’ll let you know if I ever do one :)

[@TheSoaringChannel]

@@PureGlide my FO can confirm I didn't have a perfect flight this last 3 days! 😂🥴 Take THAT, Fort Lauderdale!!!! 😂

[@pauln1557]

Fantastic. Thanks for taking us along for the ride.

[@PureGlide]

Our pleasure!

[@SkidzFPV]

I started paragliding in January, and have always flown rc gliders, would love to learn to fly sailplanes, you guys can cover so much ground it’s incredible! Had a friend fly 92 miles on his paraglider a couple weeks ago, in less than 7 hours, was pretty incredible for a paraglider but you guys can go so far

[@PureGlide]

Hi it is pretty awesome being able to go hundreds of km each flight :) we have a number of paraglider pilots who do gliding as well, both have their challenges, and it's all relative!

[@SkidzFPV]

@@PureGlide yea, they really do, when getting into paragliding I had no idea how incredible it was going to be, or how terrifying a 4+ m/s climb would be, really is like riding a bucking bronco in the sky, and I’d assume it can get pretty bumpy in a sailplane as well. The big advantage of paragliding is being able to land pretty much anywhere

[@aubergineontoast]

Hey pure Glide. Just flew Omarama in my Hang Glider. Didn't fly as far as you guys but had fun . Whoever was flying the sailplane low down behind the Clay Cliffs - thanks for showing me where the thermal was...LOL !

[@PureGlide]

Haha awesome! Sadly it wasn’t me, I’m in Waipukurau at present :) check gliding.net.nz/tracking to see who it was!

[@garysmitherman]

Great flight and calm commentary would love to learn to glide one day. Keep them coming.

[@PureGlide]

Thanks, will do!

[@siliconebobsqpts]

Up to our ears in snow but enjoying your videos!!!

[@PureGlide]

Good stuff!

[@roberthaugen9117]

Very nice Mr. Pure Glide. Enjoyed your comments and amazing footage. Keep posting!!

[@PureGlide]

Thanks, will do!

[@GC987]

The EUREKA moment ! Well done for thinking safe and staying within your comfort zone. Both very important. In the mountains the sun is of incidental concern if you are able to stay on top of those ridges where the wind is blowing 20 kts & is as close to perpendicular to the ridges as possible. That's where the strong (albeit bumpy at times) lift is to be found. Now you've "cracked that nut" I'm sure you will get faster. The footage is beautiful filmed and your honesty refreshing. It looked to be another very enjoyable day. I wonder if when editing you can show which leg of the task you are on, which would be very interesting in following you. Another great vlog. Nicely done. Thanks !

[@PureGlide]

Hey thanks for the feedback! If you watch on a computer the chapter titles say which leg I’m on if that helps. And great point about the sun. Cheers!

[@GC987]

@@PureGlide I shall take a look. Thanks. Enjoy the rest of the season ! Look forward to your next adventure. 🏔

[@lessainsbury8508]

I enjoy your videos Tim. Spectacular scenery down there. Hope to visit there one day.

[@PureGlide]

Please do! Thank you

[@arthurfowler3766]

Where is here? New Zealand? Spectacular mountain flying. I would call it proximity flying. I fly hanng gliders. You generally gly much much higher, mostly the have much greater speeds and glide ratios. Am coring a thermal a sail plane comes in under me 500 feet. He can only slow down in the thermal , I am coring it. Finally at the top.he was only 20 feet under me a quick wave and he was out of site in a little over a minute. Took me a half hour tomake it to Lake Pillsbury. Hull Mountain.

[@Flying2ZC]

Its funny and with your 20/20 hindsite you can see the cloud formations are centred on the ridges mostly.. Great lesson thanks. I wont forget this. I hope. We last flew in Sept. It looks like we can finally take the glider to Denbigh for her Arc so she'll be ready for whatever we can get. I'm currently flying a 15m Std Vicarious glider which is keeping me sane, just. 2245 best shot looks just like our Lake District when flying from Walney. :-)

[@PureGlide]

Yeah the clouds really are centred on the ridge lines! It was a good day to show where I should have been flying :)

[@GodzillaGoesGaga]

You might have not won the competition but you shared a wonderful flight with us. Loved it. I forgot how beautiful NZ is.

[@PureGlide]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching

[@broken2352]

the time lapse speed and the wide lens put me in a constant state of fear of your wing clipping those hills :P

[@PureGlide]

Ha yes in real life it's a lot slower :)

[@jacekpiterow900]

This dual yaw string hack seems to be super precise.

[@PureGlide]

Yeah I like it!

[@leonov14]

Wow, very nice and interesting flight. Thanks

[@PureGlide]

Many thanks!

[@Jopesi04]

Brilliant video your commentary gives great context. A case of knowing what you should be doing but the puzzle is how. Your point about local knowledge I think is relevant. I’ve a fair amount of mountain flying not at comp level but experienced the same dilemma. It certainly looked like a great day but not easy. I guess you looked a the traces of the faster guys and found that they were on the tops?

[@PureGlide]

Yeah exactly right, I think by the end of my 3 month trip down there I was starting to get the hang of staying on top. Sometimes it's easily said, but hard to actually do!

[@nigeltaylor6495]

Hey Tim, Great video as always Fly safe from Wales

[@PureGlide]

Thank you!

[@Johan-ex5yj]

Hey, Tim. I upgraded today from a 19” (720P) to 24” (1080P) monitor. The first thing I watched was your latest video. Holy Cow! Those mountains look even better now in Full HD. 👌 Only one thing for it, I’ll have to watch all your videos again on my new monitor. 😃

[@PureGlide]

Haha great to hear! Next you'll have to get a 4K monitor :O

[@Johan-ex5yj]

@@PureGlide My internet connection is only just keeping up with the HD, so 4K will be out of the question. 👎

[@PureGlide]

@@Johan-ex5yj I understand, you should try uploading them on a cellular connection!

[@Johan-ex5yj]

@@PureGlide Yikes! That would be slow and painful! ☹️

[@bobgoldman4404]

720p in 2021 ??? Jeez man that’s crazy haha

[@ryanglover1940]

Amazing footage and info!

[@PureGlide]

Thanks a lot!

[@adriankelly1744]

Thanks for the thrill I will have to come home to NZ to take a flight down there once agin Thanks

[@PureGlide]

Thanks for watching!

[@brushitoff503]

Awesome video Tim & great info too

[@PureGlide]

Hey thanks!

[@Eigil_Skovgaard]

Nice trip with a willingly beeping vario-meter. Isn't that a nice sound. Thanks for the view.

[@PureGlide]

Thanks for watching!

[@rodrigosorbilli]

Thanks for the video. It is not easy to fly, record and talk during a competition flight.

[@PureGlide]

Thank you! Yes many contest flights I don't talk much to the camera, although in some ways it helps me think about what I'm doing!

[@blacktranquilizer208]

Nice vid for weekend. Kudos!

[@PureGlide]

Enjoy, and hope you like it! Cheers!

[@asw19B100]

One of my fellow also-rans once observed every pilots’ meeting winner’s presentation is a variation of “got high, stayed high.” Still hoping to hear a got low, stayed low iteration. 😉

[@PureGlide]

I’ll have to work that into something one day...

[@thisnightcreeps]

Good to see you've added some redundancy into your yaw string set up!

[@PureGlide]

Exactly! Couldn't leave home without them now

[@thisnightcreeps]

@@PureGlide what are you using for cockpit audio in this vid?

[@PureGlide]

@@thisnightcreeps Just the GoPro Mic. It works surprisingly well because it's mounted right beside my head :)

[@thisnightcreeps]

@@PureGlide Ah nice, I'm listening on different cans to usual and I was like, man this sounds really good

[@PureGlide]

@Adrian Bennett :O

[@christopherstevenson9737]

Great video. So fun to watch amazing Soaring in NZ. Total beginner XC Pilot, but can hope to fly NZ some day!!! @AVSC. So.Cal./U.S.A.

[@PureGlide]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it

[@paddy217125]

I’m stuck in quarantine and your videos are getting me through. Any chance you could make a video on how you read the sky and the ground for lift? Like what would make you pick one cloud over another in a competition etc

[@PureGlide]

Ah yes how to ready the clouds. Once i figure it out I’ll let you know :) actually that’s kinda the point of my longer videos, to show my decision making as I go

[@paddy217125]

@@PureGlide That’s what made me ask. I’m always trying to pick which way you should go before you do it but I only get it right probably less than half the time so I’d just be interested to hear all the things influencing your decisions. Interestingly I’ve looked back at some of my older gliding videos on my phone and started to see missed opportunities which I’ve only noticed from watching your decision making.

[@nicholasoliver]

May I ask....how scary was that for you on a 1 - 10 scale? As in....how close to having to take drastic action although I think you have a motor as your fallback, right? Looked very tight with few options open at times. Thank you for your honest and informative videos. Very interesting.

[@PureGlide]

Shoot I can't remember, can't have been that dramatic! At all times I would have always had a landing option, even though you might not be able to see them. And then the other option is the engine.

[@plazaba]

Fantastic video!! Thanks for it

[@PureGlide]

My pleasure!

[@MarcoNierop]

Spectacular views but the space between the mountain tops and cloudbase is way too narrow for my comfort.. If you get really low between those mountains and need to outland?? I am too old for picking up mountain flying, I keep it to the flat lands of Europe 🙂

[@vihai]

Every time you cut just after having entered in a thermal feels like a coitus interruptus. Please let us feel a whole turn :)

[@PureGlide]

Noted, cheers!

[@Jon-es-i6o]

Goose to Maverick;-“Watch the mountains!”👀

[@MIck-M]

If we could have a lil cam in the corner of the alti it would give a better 'feel' for what the glider is doing. Commenting is good - but with an alti as well the imagination can fill in the gaps better. Very interesting stuff. edit. Turned up the quality and I can see it now but I still think a separate lil altimeter speedo thing showing would be good.

[@PureGlide]

Hi thanks for the feedback, unfortunately it's a bit tricky to add one to the footage.

[@wackaircaftmechanic2312]

Wait they let maules be tow planes over there? Also I love watching the flying around the mountains. Is it pretty cold up there?

[@PureGlide]

Sorry not sure what a maule is! That was a cub that towed me

[@PureGlide]

Nah not too cold that day, depends what level the freezing level is. Sometimes it's 13,000 feet. Sometimes it's 5000'. If the sun is out it's not usually too bad.

[@lautoka63]

@@PureGlide Maule = Cub on steroids, Tim; lots of steroids.

[@wackaircaftmechanic2312]

@@PureGlide Yeah. Gotta be careful about getting too much of a tan!

[@stefanmargelle]

Great video as always!:) I was wondering, why do You have two yaw strings?

[@PureGlide]

Thanks, just thought I'd try it out. It turns out it's much easier to see if things are aligned or not even in peripheral vision. Also a backup, incase one falls off.

[@stefanmargelle]

@@PureGlide Thanks, I will try it!:)

[@zeljkoroskar6237]

Wou Ventus cT the best price /performance glider ever 👍

[@PureGlide]

Yes I think so!

[@terrycollins5429]

another great video.......getting a bit worried were you!

[@PureGlide]

I was!

[@tinchote]

Could you comment on your landing options? In particular when you were stuck in the valley.

[@PureGlide]

Sure I was directly over a safe land-able airstrip. The only problem is it wasn’t very easy to access

[@tinchote]

@@PureGlide Thanks. Could you comment on landable fields on other parts of the flight? At times it looked like you were flying straight into very mountanous terrain.

[@PureGlide]

Yes all these valleys had landing options in them, there are only a couple which don’t and we are warned about those ones!

[@michaelkouridakis5969]

Good video. What aircraft are you flying? Water or empty tanks?

[@PureGlide]

Hi it's a Ventus cT. I can't remember if this had water on or not, I suspect it does.

[@suptommy9011]

Nice video

[@PureGlide]

Thank you

[@suptommy9011]

@@PureGlide your welcome

[@blacktranquilizer208]

Have you tried LAK series gliders? Just curious,

[@PureGlide]

No I haven’t. We have a Fes LAK at a nearby club I must try sometime...

[@robhobsweden]

I know nobody asked, but when I flew gliders, I always turned the electric vario sound off. It always disturbed me, and I always listened to the airflow of the airspeed change and buffeting in the the thermals to get a feel for the climb ratio change instead. Am I the only one? :)

[@PureGlide]

The reason we need the vario audio is we can only feel *change* in speed i.e. acceleration or deceleration. What we won't feel is a constant gain, or loss in energy. I also want to know when I'm loosing energy, so audio on when going down is critical IMO! Sure you could just look at the vario, but then your eyes are in the cockpit when they should be out at the clouds to find the best lift, and other aircraft.

[@robhobsweden]

@@PureGlide I often felt that I trusted the beeps over the direct sound of the speed change in the thermals, making the centering harder due to the delay(s) of the vario. The vario sound often masked the natural speed change sounds too, IMHO... When in constant gain, there shouldn't be any need for centering corrections anyhow, since there is no change in acc. My point is that it's just two sets of audio feedback - one is acceleration feedback - the other is a delayed acceleration and climb ratio feedback. One can ask, if centered, and one look at the speed and vario at the same time does it make one really focusing less on the outside? High performance slick gliders could easily change speed with both thermal climb ratio change. When I stopped flying for about a decade ago, there wasn't any audio feedback on the speedometer, which I personally deem more crucial than the vario. If I wanted any audio feedback, it shold be a voice that told me the climb ratio for one circuit, and what to do to center a thermal, and when to increase / decrease speed in cloud streets. That would be immensly better, from my point of view. ;) But that's just my personal opinions. The main thing is to fly safe and have technology that help oneself. I think the vario audio feedback is a marvellous invention for those who feel it is useful... :)

[@maxvogel1571]

Is that a doubleseater flewn from the back? That's dangerous AF there has to be atleast 60kg of weight in front for balance

[@PureGlide]

Hi no it sure is not, this is in my single seat Ventus cT

[@mattmatt245]

What app are you running on your phone ?

[@PureGlide]

The New Zealand glider tracking website gliding.net.nz/tracking

[@martinposavec5255]

Are you allowed to use gliders with sustainer engine in a competition?

[@PureGlide]

Yes, we have loggers that detect if we use our engine, and it’s treated the same as landing in a field. Cheers!

[@martinposavec5255]

@@PureGlide oh cool, thanks for quick reply and keep up the good work.

[@StevenGSchassler]

A big fan of your channel but feel compelled to offer this advice: Never use the words 'glider' and 'race' in the same sentence. While it is true that you are flying a 'sail' plane....you are NOT safely on the water, Icarus. Bless, good luck and remain safe!

[@PureGlide]

Sorry I have no idea what you're talking about there, we race our gliders often!

[@romeohotel1954]

Nice

[@PureGlide]

Thx

[@folkenvanvanel6611]

I have a rule: competition or mountains. Never both.

[@PureGlide]

Fair enough!

[@Breznak]

I always thougth gliding wasn't for me and once I get some timje (and money) I'd get into powered GA flying. But the more I watch theese tho more I'm temted to pick up gliding instead.

[@PureGlide]

Excellent, my plan is working :) It's like the difference between sailing or buying a small boat. Do you want a sport? or something to get from A to B?

[@Breznak]

@@PureGlide I live in a small country in central Europe and GA isn't really seen as a sensible mode of transport here. For me it's a hobby, that's three little kids and an uncertainty of a small bussiness away. From he other side of the globe New Zealand looks like a "very aviation minded country". Anyway thanks for the reply. I appreciate the amount of time it must take to read and reply to all the comments.

[@PureGlide]

Yeah gliding is a great hobby, and as a bonus it’s also cheaper! There’s also a LOT of gliding in Europe, I’m sure you’ll find it easily :)

[@suptommy9011]

Hi I'm back

[@PureGlide]

Oh hai!

[@suptommy9011]

@@PureGlide hi

[@Fukenbumen]

That looked like an energy draining flight. But that scenery, just wow!

[@PureGlide]

Pretty awesome eh!

[@nakotaapache4674]

Landscape of Dreams you can fly

[@PureGlide]

It is pretty amazing!

[@glidingpassiongermany407]

Why two strings?

[@PureGlide]

Answered in previous comments

[@glidingpassiongermany407]

@@PureGlide Why don’t you just wrote: ‚redundancy‘, would‘ve been 3 words less and much better for me.

[@PureGlide]

“Thanks, just thought I'd try it out. It turns out it's much easier to see if things are aligned or not even in peripheral vision. Also a backup, incase one falls off.”

[@glidingpassiongermany407]

@@PureGlide thanks, i have not found that. :)

[@deviscoli]

12:06 scary

[@PureGlide]

Yeah and I picked up the wing with aileron, should have nose down first (if it was a wing stalling, it might have made it worse)

[@airlogic]

Chur.. Mean Tim...

[@PureGlide]

Cheers!

[@chitochu]

Spanish subtitles?

[@PureGlide]

Only if you make them! Would you like to help with translation?

[@chitochu]

I would like it very much, but I have been studying English for many years but my ear is deaf to the English language.

[@garthedwards3089]

Matarangi at the beginning?

[@PureGlide]

Nope, Pauanui :)

[@garthedwards3089]

@@PureGlide definitely coromandel. Nice.