Cloud Suck over Ridgely: Saturday, Aug 24

[Ward Odenwald]

Managed to pull off yet another stupid flying stunt yesterday and the more I consider what I did, the more I realize just how selfish and dangerous it was. I’m showing it for its heuristic value. My hope is that these images will help others avoid the seductive trap of climbing above cloud base. I believe it’s a given that most of us like lift and staying in it, well that’s even better. The problem is that lift can transition from a good thing to nightmarish bad faster than most of us can anticipate. Just ask any one who flies a glider with poor penetration performance how lonely it gets above a ridge when the lift ramps up due to increase in wind speed. Yesterday, I was reminded of how thermal lift at cloud base can suck you up into its white room before your mind can transition from the “lift is good” mantra to the “I want my Mommy” panic mode! Rooney towed me up after the Highland Challenge Pilots were in the air at around 2:15. After releasing, I found a large area of essentially zero sink south of the airpark that gradually became 100 to 200 fpm lift to cloud base. The next three thermals were essentially the same, with the lift increasing as I climbed higher. The base of the last thermal was defined near its edges at ~4,500 ft msl but appeared to be concave in shape with the cloud level higher in it’s central region, and that’s were the strongest lift was found along with me – enjoying what was now 400 to 500 fpm consistent lift. Had I paid attention to the clouds near the one that I was under, their rapid vertical development should have raised some red flags as to what was happening above me. Before I realized the extent of the danger, my visibility was reduced to feet. The lift was stronger with essentially no perceived lateral turbulence. I tried to counter the lift by flying with level wings (straight) and as fast as I could which made little or not difference in what my vario was telling me and at times I felt as if I had flown directly into stronger lift with my nose pitching up even with the control bar stuffed. When I exited/spiraled out of the side of the cloud, the ground was spinning faster than a merry-go-round. My first reaction was basically of disbelief. How could I be in a spiral when my wings were level with no sensation of turning? Had I remembered what every flying text harps on – no visual references with no instruments translates to no clue as to what your flying orientation is, I may have avoided a major fear induced adrenalin rush. I consider myself lucky to have escaped a bad situation and foolish for ignoring safety rules. My highest climb of the day (most likely in the cloud) was recorded at 5,708 ft with the altimeter set at 65 ft before takeoff. Here are some photos of the event starting at cloud base and ending with my heading back to Highland. Ward

[Ward Odenwald]

last set of five.

[jimsmess]

Wow, what kind of instruments do you fly with? In similar situations I have used my GPS for bearing and heading and tried to maintain a steady airspeed. The Highland Challenge group would call what you did, "going Italian". Being in the center of a cathedral ceiling cloud is neat but rarely a good place to be
Jim M

[Ward Odenwald]

I fly with a Flytec 6020 and during the early stages of entering the "white room" I didn’t detect anything abnormal or significantly different from the climb up to base. However, soon after the mist/rain began to run down my visor and combined with the limited visibility I was unable to clearly see its readout so I focused on the audio and reducing my bank angle by what gravity was suggesting via my position relative to the control bar and changes in how the glider was responding to my inputs. I’m sure that I broke several “cardinal rules” of instrument flying during this miss-adventure in the cathedral. As for “going Italian”, not sure what the translation is on that but I’m guessing it's significantly more generous than I deserve. Ward

[mcgowantk]

Thanks for sharing your story Ward. It serves as a good reminder for all of us.

Take care

Tom McGowan