Tips for the (late) twos and early threes:
Thermalling Woodstock

Great ridgeline
This is the time of year when the thermals really start to turn on at all of our sites. Woodstock is an ideal site for pilots who are new to thermalling to gain experience quickly. The ridgeline extends for miles in both directions. This provides plenty of room to practice away from the crowd and to learn how to read the thermal triggers that exist all up and down the ridgeline. But first things first.

Beware of spring!
Springtime conditions can be very rough. Most pilots in the CHGA can describe instances this time of year when they were in the air and wished they were on the ground. I count myself among them. There is plenty of time to fly after midday. Flying after the middle of the day will still provide ample thermalling opportunities while significantly easing the landing process. Believe me it's no fun to come rocking and rolling at 1:00 in the afternoon into that postage stamp field that we call the Woodstock primary. These landings frequently occur because the pilot was exhausted from battling rowdy conditions and could not wait it out until conditions mellowed in the late afternoon. Put a tired pilot into a small field in turbulent conditions and you have a recipe for an accident. Until you are familiar with springtime conditions, give yourself a break, and fly a little later in the day. You'll have a lot more fun.

Reference your location
Ok, you've picked a good day and launched into a bright afternoon sun. The ridge lift has quickly taken you to several hundred feet over launch and POW; you hit your first springtime thermal. Turn! But when you've done that and your heart settles down, look below you. What point were you over when you caught that thermal? Was it over a rock pile near the power lines? Was it right where one of the fingers intersects the main ridge? Or was it a slight north cross day and you caught it just upwind of where that intersection occurs?

Map the thermal
Let's assume that the wind is coming straight in. In this case there is a good chance that you caught the thermal right where a finger intersects the ridge. What happened? The finger triggered the thermal. Try flying out directly over the finger and you will probably find that you will continue to climb for a long way. Eventually you will fall out. Mark your spot and turn back toward the ridge, then fly out again over the finger. You'll probably fall out at nearly the same spot. Now you've mapped the thermal. It's long and skinny, just like the finger underneath you. Flying this way might not keep you in the core, but it will keep you in lift and you'll gain a lot of altitude.

Stay out front
Now you are 2500 over, what are you going to do? You look around and see Tom McGowan 1/4 mile behind the ridge and 1500 feet over you. Don't even think about it! He's got a high speed topless glider and can easily penetrate back in front of the ridge. You have a single surface pig sticker and if you get that far back there is a good chance you are soon going to be a candidate for the "restricted lz landing of the year" award.

Repeat
Instead, fly to the same spot on the next finger upwind. Guess what, there is a good chance that you will hit another thermal just like the one you left. Is this fun or what? By paying attention to what's causing the thermals to kick off, you can often hopscotch all the way up and down the ridge. Just look for the next thermal at the same relative spot that you found the last one.

Good luck,

Fly safe

Dan Tomlinson