On Sunday, July 16, 2023 at 11:32:31 AM UTC-7, Dave Nadler wrote:
On Friday, July 14, 2023 at 3:22:29 PM UTC-4, Dave Nadler wrote:
For those of you interested in variometers, I've posted a re-recording of the OSTIV-track talk I gave at the 2023 SSA convention:
https://lnkd.in/eEhafmH4
For a hearing-impaired friend I cleaned up the Google auto-generated subtitles.
Though I did like it when google said "colliders" instead of "gliders"... Enjoy!
Dave,
Thanks for sharing. Awesome presentation! I learned a lot and have a more realistic perspective on why the perfect vario doesn't already exist.
I was really impressed with the airmass simulation as an illustration of the challenges we have stopping at and centering the best lift. Particularly at ~12:43, the simulation shows a rising air column top out at ~700m, then the flow shifts and becomes
horizontal to right before joining a stronger core and moving vertical again (located with your pointer). It explains the scenario I encounter often: get low, turn in the next thing going up, have it peter out well below TOL, leave and then hit the
real core a short time later. The simulation's dramatic switch to pure horizontal flow was unexpected.
It illustrates another reason why staying higher helps: these lower 'feeder cores' have mostly coalesced into larger, stronger columns so you don't waste time in them. I hope to see more of these airmass models shared. What a great way to help us
develop a better understanding of what's out there.
As I listened, I thought about flying with a 'perfect vario' vs the compromises we face now. I don't think we're too bad off. For example, what if we could literally see the air mass (like the simulation view) and always know where to go and which
direction to turn? I know I'd quickly become bored. There's something about the struggle, developing an instinct, chasing hope, failing at times, and savoring the wins that makes soaring special.
In a similar musing, I've been amazed at how accurate and convenient today's soaring forecasts are. In my HG XC days, we frantically copied down a recorded phone message to gather the early morning raw sounding data from the (2 total) weather balloon
launch sites we had in all of Arizona. Now, SkySight almost feels like cheating. Don't get me wrong - I really love the level of technology we have now. GPS, secure IGC, moving maps, ADSB, weather, ... it's all awesome. And YES!, I would also love
to have a vario that only tells the truth regarding the airmass I'm currently in. But, I'm also kind of happy to hear the core challenges aren't going away soon.
JJ
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