Not a pilot, but I am a meteorology student studying different mechanisms that create circulations in the atmosphere, and of course mountain waves are one of them! Thanks for the great info!
Years ago I worked with a pilot that flew an RAF Jet Provost in a wave, he shut everything down and stayed up there for hours using the same gliding principles. He only did it once as his squadron got worried and even alerted search and rescue when he didn't return for hours. When he did return they were very surprised to find he still had 1/2 full fuel tanks. Great video and great flying. Thanks
I gave up flying gliders, and sold my glider, many, many years ago. My flying was all done before the internet was a thing, the smallest camera available was the size of a brick, and all navigation was done using a map and compass, so the ability to share experiences and footage such as you have on your UA-cam channel was just a distant dream. I still managed to acieve 2 diamonds, missing out on the 500km, despite a handful of attempts. Living in the SE corner of the UK, which is dominated by relatively low controlled airspace (thankyou Gatwick and Heathrow) and large stretches of water in more than one direction, made such flights extremely difficult to achieve. I would have loved to experience flying a glider in New Zealand, as I know you have a number of clubs and some excellent soaring conditions. Keep up the good work, you are helping to refresh a lot of fond memories.
I remember many years ago , battling with turbulent ridge lift for about half an hour , before managing to climb into the bottom of the wave , a few minutes in “calm” air, and I was just below the airway at FL65 , that was my first experience of wave , happy memories 😃
I've dreamy about wave soaring ever since I first read about it. Absolute top of my bucket list. I've managed the first step towards achieving it in that I know what a glider looks like. ;)
Always a pleasure hearing you talk about flying gliders. Especially the fundamentals. Understanding cloud formation is essential. Look forward to the next. Thanks
I’m envious of you having mountains, here in South Alabama on the Gulf Coast its pretty flat. But still..... Soaring is amazing and we get some pretty good Cumulus Thermals here. Keep doing what you do and thank you for sharing.
Unfortunately I wasn't filming my flights when there's been extreme rotor! If you look at that video of the rotor I had, you can see the dashboard moving a lot :) the footage is stabilised!
Very nice explanation! But something I never got explained in my young glider pilot career, is how to get into a wave without a tow to 10.000 feet or higher. Maybe you can explain it to us in another video 👍🏼
Depends on local topography. There are places where people have launched into the wave from 500' auto tows. One is the Wet Valley in Colorado (SW of Pueblo about 30 miles, south of Westcliffe) Of course, when the wave was that low, it meant 50 kt winds directly across the runway.
Know people who have climbed to over 20,000ft from a 500ft autotow - all depends where you are located.... my first wave flight in Wales was from a low point less than 1500ft to 15000ft.
Really enjoy your videos. Used to work in Matamata and never once saw a glider overhead. Live in Cambridge and have also never once seen one here either. Cheers.
Hey We do fly over Matamata often, but unfortunately Cambridge is just inside the Hamilton airspace so we don’t go that way! You’ll have to pop out for a flight sometime
@@PureGlide we do in the Rockies in Western Canada. I live in Quebec which is in Eastern Canada. It’s rather flat here, so all of my soaring was thermal activity.
@@CLdriver1960 Plenty of wave flying in the east as well -i.e. the Quebec Gliding club as a annual wave camp at Baie-Saint-Paul for instance - just not quite as spectacular as the Rockies.....
@@soaruk3697 That is correct. However, Baie St. Paul is 500km away from the gliding club I used to fly at. The next closest place is over 300km in Lake Placid, NY, USA. neither of which I would consider as spectacular. If I need to travel to find wave, it would be to western North America, or New Zealand.😊
Great photos and video! I think the direction of flow that you drew for the rotor clouds is backwards. Upward side should be on the upwind side so that at the top it’s flowing in the same direction as the wave’s wind.
Another great vid, Tim. I must be one of the few people who has soared the Southern Alps, on two separate expeditions, and not managed to better my best climb in Wales!!! I knew should have emmigrated!! LoL :-)
Yes! there is much sport to be had when the Nor-wester blows over the Black Mountains and falls over the eastern edge of the Welsh massif into the valley of the Usk.
Lenticular clouds are some of my favorite clouds! You mention laminar flow/stable air is needed in order to get these types of clouds - how can you tell when there is going to be stable, laminar flowing air? My guess is laminar flow comes as a result of a large area of wind flowing roughly the same direction over a large area but I'm not sure. Thanks!
Your videos are both educational and enjoyable. In the South Island, is the wave equally accessible from any of the gliderports (e.g. Springfield, Omarama)? NZ is just now opening up travel from Australia, from what I understand. Is there any hint from the govt what the travel picture looks like in early 2022 in time for wave flying (mandated 7 day quarantine and/or negative Covid test)? Thanks
Hi thank you very much! Yes the wave is accessible from most South Island sites as they are all located near the mountains. We have just started a quarantine free travel bubble with Australia, so unless things get worse again, travel to NZ from Australia should be easily possible. Thanks for watching.
Oh man. I guess I'm going flying again...I used to fly at sky sailing in Fremont, Ca. Gliders were napped out of lightweight rocks, we had to tow ourselves uphill both ways in the morning snow and had to land at night because the only spoilers back then were mothers screaming into a can that dinner was ready if you were dumb enough to take a string with you. It must be nice to land on a ROUND wheel.... Time to give it another shot.... Be nice not to have to pack all my laundry in my parachute......
@@beeblebug well at least you won't need an instructor.......I did the exact same thing. I was 16 years old the first time. It took me a week. I'll let you know if I ever solo again.... I'm told I'll have to lose AT LEAST 100lbs. Might be time to buy a two seater and rip out a seat. Probably the front one.
3:20 "dry out" seems like unfortunate phrasing since obviously the amount of moisture in the air doesn't decrease when the clouds evaporate. (the relative humidity does decrease I suppose, but solely due to the increase in air temperature)
Yeah, mountain high EDS systems are really the only option to consider! I wouldn't go for a carbon fibre bottle, stick to the normal cheap ones. Hopefully your glider has a mounting for a bottle, otherwise you can get reasonably portable bottles too.
@@PureGlide Our LS4 has the has a mounting for a bottle. I will share the flight with you once I try it. Thanks for the reply and your informative video.
Oh, great! No 1 is a great introduction. Looking forward to the rest of the series on wave flying! 😀 NZ- South Island is a great place for it… I see a 1000km wave flight in your future. 👍
Haha actually a number of shots from that video were from a 1000km attempt. Unfortunately I failed! but will have to go back and do it again sometime...
Hi I think from memory I only had clearance to a specific altitude, so had to stop climbing there! Or I was descending to come down. The video clips might not be perfect order all the time.
You can have wave formed by other things including cumulus clouds, or a cliff eg coastline. Anything that pokes up into laminar air can do it, or a drop in landmass can trigger a bounce. Conditions have to be right down low to work off a coastline but it is possible.
![[UA] NAVI vs MOUZ | BO5 | IEM Rio 2024](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CMBYk0cbGoA/mqdefault.jpg)
Not a pilot, but I am a meteorology student studying different mechanisms that create circulations in the atmosphere, and of course mountain waves are one of them! Thanks for the great info!
Thanks Maggie, glad you enjoyed it!
Years ago I worked with a pilot that flew an RAF Jet Provost in a wave, he shut everything down and stayed up there for hours using the same gliding principles. He only did it once as his squadron got worried and even alerted search and rescue when he didn't return for hours. When he did return they were very surprised to find he still had 1/2 full fuel tanks. Great video and great flying. Thanks
Ha that's a great story. Fantastic to just to freak everyone out by staying in the air longer than you should!
Perfectly explained, Tim!
Cheers Stefan!
I'm a paragliding pilot, but love this and Stefan's gliding channels ⭐😎
I've been looking for a concise explanation of Wave systems for a while. I need look no further, thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
that time-lapse at the end is super awesome. like an elevator going up :D
“An elevator” is a very accurate analogy 😃
You know it's a good climb when you can actually see climb rate as you look at the window!
One of my favorite little spots in New Zealand is actually called "Hugo's Elevator" because its a good wave-entry spot (near Omrama). :-)
I gave up flying gliders, and sold my glider, many, many years ago. My flying was all done before the internet was a thing, the smallest camera available was the size of a brick, and all navigation was done using a map and compass, so the ability to share experiences and footage such as you have on your UA-cam channel was just a distant dream. I still managed to acieve 2 diamonds, missing out on the 500km, despite a handful of attempts. Living in the SE corner of the UK, which is dominated by relatively low controlled airspace (thankyou Gatwick and Heathrow) and large stretches of water in more than one direction, made such flights extremely difficult to achieve. I would have loved to experience flying a glider in New Zealand, as I know you have a number of clubs and some excellent soaring conditions. Keep up the good work, you are helping to refresh a lot of fond memories.
Hi thanks for your comments! Glad you're enjoying the videos. Regards from New Zealand
'we're not scarred of a bit of turbulence' - priceless - thanks for the video
:)
Just ordered a rainbow discus shirt and I'm quite excited. Good video!
Thank you!
@@PureGlide Thanks for the excellent merch!
Love all your videos. Even as a glider pilot with a PhD in Aerospace, I find them very informative and entertaining.
Hey that’s great to hear, glad you like them. Let me know if I get anything too wrong :)
I remember many years ago , battling with turbulent ridge lift for about half an hour , before managing to climb into the bottom of the wave , a few minutes in “calm” air, and I was just below the airway at FL65 , that was my first experience of wave , happy memories 😃
It's a satisfying moment to get into it!
I've dreamy about wave soaring ever since I first read about it. Absolute top of my bucket list. I've managed the first step towards achieving it in that I know what a glider looks like. ;)
Find a local club and give it a go sometime!
Excellent introduction. Ties a lot of loose ends regarding my understanding of waves.
Great to hear, cheers
The wave makes the glider a jet plane. Smooth, constant lift. Intoxicating!
It's pretty awesome!
Outstanding explanation in brief and consize words
Thank you!
. . . another great tutorial along with spectacular footage. Thanks Tim.
Aww shucks, thanks Colin
I love the NZ accent, ahbe been there in 2008 and love your humor, Keep on going and greetings from Switzerland (LSPO)
Awesome! Thank you!
Nice video, Tim. Those clouds are spectacular, even more so when flying close to them.
Thanks Sarel!
Nice Video! Really looking forward to the next one.
Thanks!
Catch a wave and your sitting on top of the world... Great video Tim!
Thanks Will!
👍
Love your channel! Keep up the good work.
Thank you! Will do!
Always a pleasure hearing you talk about flying gliders. Especially the fundamentals. Understanding cloud formation is essential. Look forward to the next. Thanks
Thanks Kirk!
thank you for the video it really helped clearing up some concept
Glad it helped!
I’m envious of you having mountains, here in South Alabama on the Gulf Coast its pretty flat. But still..... Soaring is amazing and we get some pretty good Cumulus Thermals here. Keep doing what you do and thank you for sharing.
Thank you!
Very nicely made! Cheers from Austrian Alps.
Many thanks!
Good one! Espetially the timelapses are impressive!
Thanks a lot!
Cheers Tim = Excellent vid and explanation as always!
Very welcome
Very good !! semplice e chiaro !!!
Thank you! Faccio del mio meglio :)
I was hanging in there for a video of you in the rotor ... or white knuckling in the sink on the ‘bad side’ - great video! Thanks!
Unfortunately I wasn't filming my flights when there's been extreme rotor! If you look at that video of the rotor I had, you can see the dashboard moving a lot :) the footage is stabilised!
@@PureGlide it’s an exciting ride, that’s for sure!!
Very nice explanation!
But something I never got explained in my young glider pilot career, is how to get into a wave without a tow to 10.000 feet or higher.
Maybe you can explain it to us in another video 👍🏼
Yes exactly right, how to get into wave is the topic of the next wave video!
Depends on local topography. There are places where people have launched into the wave from 500' auto tows. One is the Wet Valley in Colorado (SW of Pueblo about 30 miles, south of Westcliffe) Of course, when the wave was that low, it meant 50 kt winds directly across the runway.
Know people who have climbed to over 20,000ft from a 500ft autotow - all depends where you are located.... my first wave flight in Wales was from a low point less than 1500ft to 15000ft.
Awesome video! More of these please!
You got it!
Hi Pure Glide, hello Tim! Nice introduction to wave flying, but you have mistate in picture shown at 1:30. Rotation of the rotor cloud is incorrect.
Thank you yes someone else mentioned that, unfortunately I can’t fix it in the video! I’ll mention it in the next wave video
I’ve ridden a standing wave in PT6 powered Beech King Air with both engines back at idle and the props feathered.
Haha that's awesome :)
That must have been quite an experience! 😃
Did you maintain (or even gain) altitude riding the wave in the Beech?
@@Johan-ex5yj Sure did, I recall we were indicating about 160 kts and climbing over 500ft/ minute going through ten thousand feet.
@@mitseraffej5812 Wow, that is STRONG lift! 👍
Excellent video! New subscriber here. I appreciated the “creation in 7 days” reference!👍🏻
Welcome aboard!
nice teaser
:)
Really enjoy your videos. Used to work in Matamata and never once saw a glider overhead. Live in Cambridge and have also never once seen one here either. Cheers.
Hey We do fly over Matamata often, but unfortunately Cambridge is just inside the Hamilton airspace so we don’t go that way! You’ll have to pop out for a flight sometime
@@PureGlide I would love to. Absolute dream of mine.
Nice one Timbodini :)
Thanks! 😀
As always, great video! Cheers from Canada!
Cheers! Do you get much wave flying over there?!
@@PureGlide we do in the Rockies in Western Canada. I live in Quebec which is in Eastern Canada. It’s rather flat here, so all of my soaring was thermal activity.
@@CLdriver1960 Plenty of wave flying in the east as well -i.e. the Quebec Gliding club as a annual wave camp at Baie-Saint-Paul for instance - just not quite as spectacular as the Rockies.....
@@soaruk3697 That is correct. However, Baie St. Paul is 500km away from the gliding club I used to fly at. The next closest place is over 300km in Lake Placid, NY, USA. neither of which I would consider as spectacular.
If I need to travel to find wave, it would be to western North America, or New Zealand.😊
Very nice, you're doing a great job with this channel! NZ looks like a great place to fly gliders, hope to make it down there some day.
Thanks a lot! Yeah well worth a visit I reckon :)
Great photos and video!
I think the direction of flow that you drew for the rotor clouds is backwards. Upward side should be on the upwind side so that at the top it’s flowing in the same direction as the wave’s wind.
Oh no I didn’t even think about that when I drew it! Good catch, unfortunately I can’t fix it now! But will put a note in the description
@@PureGlide yup, I know the problem well. I wish UA-cam would allow an updated version of a video to replace a live one that needs a tweak or two.
Awesome
Cheers!
Excellent l love your channel
Thanks Paul!
Fascinating stuff, concise and enthusiastically presented.
Why are the air brakes deployed in the still shot at 2:25?
Cheers Paul
Good spotting! I was descending out of the wave back home at that stage
Another great vid, Tim.
I must be one of the few people who has soared the Southern Alps, on two separate expeditions, and not managed to better my best climb in Wales!!!
I knew should have emmigrated!! LoL :-)
Haha
Yes! there is much sport to be had when the Nor-wester blows over the Black Mountains and falls over the eastern edge of the Welsh massif into the valley of the Usk.
Lenticular clouds are some of my favorite clouds! You mention laminar flow/stable air is needed in order to get these types of clouds - how can you tell when there is going to be stable, laminar flowing air? My guess is laminar flow comes as a result of a large area of wind flowing roughly the same direction over a large area but I'm not sure. Thanks!
Your videos are both educational and enjoyable. In the South Island, is the wave equally accessible from any of the gliderports (e.g. Springfield, Omarama)? NZ is just now opening up travel from Australia, from what I understand. Is there any hint from the govt what the travel picture looks like in early 2022 in time for wave flying (mandated 7 day quarantine and/or negative Covid test)? Thanks
Hi thank you very much! Yes the wave is accessible from most South Island sites as they are all located near the mountains. We have just started a quarantine free travel bubble with Australia, so unless things get worse again, travel to NZ from Australia should be easily possible. Thanks for watching.
oh, didn't realise this was a new video :)
Oh yes, only posted 6 minutes ago so you're on the ball :)
@@PureGlide haven't been gliding since my first solo 10 years ago. and going again on Sunday :)
Oh man. I guess I'm going flying again...I used to fly at sky sailing in Fremont, Ca.
Gliders were napped out of lightweight rocks, we had to tow ourselves uphill both ways in the morning snow and had to land at night because the only spoilers back then were mothers screaming into a can that dinner was ready if you were dumb enough to take a string with you.
It must be nice to land on a ROUND wheel....
Time to give it another shot....
Be nice not to have to pack all my laundry in my parachute......
We used to use our hands for wave lift like the flintstones powered their cars with their feet.
It's been awhile....
@@beeblebug well at least you won't need an instructor.......I did the exact same thing. I was 16 years old the first time. It took me a week.
I'll let you know if I ever solo again....
I'm told I'll have to lose AT LEAST 100lbs.
Might be time to buy a two seater and rip out a seat.
Probably the front one.
3:20 "dry out" seems like unfortunate phrasing since obviously the amount of moisture in the air doesn't decrease when the clouds evaporate. (the relative humidity does decrease I suppose, but solely due to the increase in air temperature)
True, "de-condenses" perhaps?!
@@PureGlide What about "evaporates" ;)
Are you based in Omarama Tim? My son and I lived there in the past.
Hi no I was visiting over summer. Now back in the Waikato
Could you recommend an oxygen system for a beginner? :)
Yeah, mountain high EDS systems are really the only option to consider! I wouldn't go for a carbon fibre bottle, stick to the normal cheap ones. Hopefully your glider has a mounting for a bottle, otherwise you can get reasonably portable bottles too.
@@PureGlide Our LS4 has the has a mounting for a bottle. I will share the flight with you once I try it. Thanks for the reply and your informative video.
@@hamedsarb Excellent, have fun!
Just curious, how bad can turbulence be in a glider? Typically in a jet there is often no major change in altitude heading or speed...
It can be extreme to the point of flipping the glider over! But that's very rare, and we can generally avoid the turbulence if we can see it...
@@PureGlide My god... That's really dangerous!
Oh, great! No 1 is a great introduction. Looking forward to the rest of the series on wave flying! 😀
NZ- South Island is a great place for it… I see a 1000km wave flight in your future. 👍
Haha actually a number of shots from that video were from a 1000km attempt. Unfortunately I failed! but will have to go back and do it again sometime...
@@PureGlide Keep trying, Mate. I know you can do it!!!!
How close did you get to 1000km? (More footage of that flight coming up, I hope?)
I'd love to be a glider pilot
You can! Find a local club near you, and give it a whirl :)
One of our Utah locals told a story of being towed into a wave through a rotor and found himself looking at an upside down towplane in front.
I think all wave sites have a story like that :)
How come I'd never seen this yet 😂
I don’t know!!
What about cbs windward ( or leeward )of mountains?
76k feet! Wow! I bet that glider costs a buck or two. Lol
Oh yes, millions of development cost I bet
2:29 why was the spoiler popped out? I have never been wave flying and I'm still a student. Any help appreciated. Very nice video otherwise
Hi I think from memory I only had clearance to a specific altitude, so had to stop climbing there! Or I was descending to come down. The video clips might not be perfect order all the time.
@@PureGlide That's alright. I was just curious if there was a issue with the spoilers
As I understand,no mountains no wave,right?
You can have wave formed by other things including cumulus clouds, or a cliff eg coastline. Anything that pokes up into laminar air can do it, or a drop in landmass can trigger a bounce. Conditions have to be right down low to work off a coastline but it is possible.
@@PureGlide understood. thanks
Lead to mountain waves 20stable air speed
@ fxford q 17 r
🌪️👍
We do try and avoid the tornadoes ;)
@@PureGlide not tornadoes , Thermals. LoL thermal ascension 🌪️😏
Please please make a vid on different ways to pee in a glider.
Its a literal taboo in our sport
Yeah planning that, I’ll have to film it out at the airfield sometime soon!
@@PureGlide cant wait man