Downdrafts?
10-17-2003, 02:45 PM
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Downdrafts?
I fly a Sig Riser 100" sailplane in south Florida. Sometimes when its really up there, like near the bottom of a cloud, it will suddenly dive, and quite steeply too. At first I thought the radio was getting interference but now I'm inclined to think that its turbulent air that causes this, ie downdrafts. Have you experienced this? What's the cause?
10-18-2003, 12:08 PM
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RE: Downdrafts?
Treetop-You should get strong lift right under a forming cloud, thus there strong downers in the area feeding the rising air. Wait until you get sucked into a cloud and spit out in an inverted spin (it will seem like ten) minutes later! JIM LSF796
10-18-2003, 12:33 PM
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RE: Downdrafts?
Yep, has that lots myself. It's most common when you find a really, really strong hat sucker. The weak ones that you have to circle in for minutes at a time don't seem to have that sort of downers close by.
At some points there does seem to be a strong shear as the updraft passes by the downdraft. A model that transitions through that shear can wind up in all sorts of funny attitudes.
At some points there does seem to be a strong shear as the updraft passes by the downdraft. A model that transitions through that shear can wind up in all sorts of funny attitudes.
