Soaring in very flat terrain

Moderators: Uros, Tom, OXO

Post Reply
User avatar
JeffSmith
Posts: 137
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2019 6:25 pm

Soaring in very flat terrain

Post by JeffSmith » Tue Mar 23, 2021 12:51 pm

How does one soar above the clouds when flying in flat terrain, without any slopes or cliffs to surf?

I can't find any lift above the clouds, so is there some kind of dynamic soaring employed to do this?

Cheers
Jeff

User avatar
Paul_UK
Posts: 828
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2009 1:05 pm
Location: Southampton, UK

Re: Soaring in very flat terrain

Post by Paul_UK » Tue Mar 23, 2021 1:33 pm

Unless there is a wave system setup you cannot. The top of the cloud signifies the top of the thermal pretty much. If there is a wave system active however (higher upper level winds, hills / mountains upwind of where you are positioned etc) you may climb higher using wave lift.
Image
2018 - Silver Badge complete - Forgot I could claim for the 100km diploma flying an out and return :oops:
2019 - Get up to speed and aim for a 300km task?! maybe.....

User avatar
JShieck
Posts: 203
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2018 6:08 pm

Re: Soaring in very flat terrain

Post by JShieck » Wed Mar 24, 2021 4:14 pm

Get aerotowed above the clouds. 8)
But would be expensive in real life....

Gunth3r
Posts: 51
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 10:17 pm
Location: North of the 49th

Re: Soaring in very flat terrain

Post by Gunth3r » Wed Mar 24, 2021 5:27 pm

JShieck wrote:
Wed Mar 24, 2021 4:14 pm
Get aerotowed above the clouds. 8)
But would be expensive in real life....
Or motor glider, which again is going to be real life expensive. No extra charge in Condor! ;)
Image

mrstells
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2021 2:08 am

Re: Soaring in very flat terrain

Post by mrstells » Wed Jun 09, 2021 12:56 am

Has anyone found convective or thermal wave in Condor? I have been experimenting a little with it but can't seem to get it to work.

Lenticular
Posts: 140
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2017 7:29 am

Re: Soaring in very flat terrain

Post by Lenticular » Wed Jun 09, 2021 3:12 am

mrstells wrote:
Wed Jun 09, 2021 12:56 am
Has anyone found convective or thermal wave in Condor? I have been experimenting a little with it but can't seem to get it to work.
Not modelled AFAIK.

There are flat-land thermals but they don't extend very high that I've seen.

The only wave I know of is mechanical (wind over terrain).
G-ZULU /// LTN
Image

Lenticular
Posts: 140
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2017 7:29 am

Re: Soaring in very flat terrain

Post by Lenticular » Wed Jun 09, 2021 3:27 am

JeffSmith wrote:
Tue Mar 23, 2021 12:51 pm
How does one soar above the clouds when flying in flat terrain, without any slopes or cliffs to surf?

I can't find any lift above the clouds, so is there some kind of dynamic soaring employed to do this?

Cheers
Jeff
Thermals work through warm air rising up through cooler air. The cloud tops occur where the dew point and temperature meet. The greater the split between dew point and temperature, the higher the cloud base (unless there is an inversion layer).

The warm air rises until it meets air of similar temperature. You get cloud formation when the water vapour can't be held any more by the air as it rises and cools, and so it condenses out into clouds. If there is an inversion layer however, the air stops rising before the clouds can form.

This is also why it is nearly impossible to thermal above clouds, unless they are building strongly in which case there is still vertically rising air that you can use for lift.
G-ZULU /// LTN
Image

Kestrel_BY
Posts: 55
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2021 4:15 pm

Re: Soaring in very flat terrain

Post by Kestrel_BY » Wed Jun 09, 2021 7:18 pm

In real life there are a few ways to climb over the clouds in flat land :
- With some wind and some speed, it's sometimes possible to climb in front of the cumulus (works even better with a TCU).
- Sometimes when an airmass "slips" over another you can find a "wave" that isn't caused by the terrain. Some of these are usable, some aren't (a few years ago this happened through about half of France, neat day it was).

I hope this was understanble enough, given I don't know the meteo terminology very well in English.

I don't think any of these exist in Condor though.
Image

Post Reply