Thermals
The thermals the field shared, and how each of them leaned.
Analysis computed
The day's thermals
5 multi-pilot thermals, reconstructed by pooling every pilot's track through the same climb. Everything shown is measured from the tracks — no fitted lift model. Select a thermal to see it in detail.
| Start | Pilots | Height band | Mean climb | Strongest side |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 800–1500 m | +1.4 m/s | NE | |
| 2 | 1200–1500 m | +1.0 m/s | S | |
| 2 | 500–1300 m | +1.4 m/s | NE | |
| 2 | 900–1700 m | +1.7 m/s | N | |
| 2 | 1300–1700 m | +1.5 m/s | S |
The dashed “forecast” arrow is the weather model’s wind — a model run, not an observation.
Each thermal pools every pilot’s fixes through the same climb into 100 m altitude bands. A band’s core is the lift-weighted centre of its fixes, so the rose and the sector readings are already normalised for the thermal’s lean and drift.
Wedge length is relative climb by side of the core, each wedge labelled with its mean climb or sink rate; the dashed ring is the measured working circle and the dotted ring the widest the field ranged, each labelled with its diameter. The solid “actual” arrow is the wind measured from the pilots’ circles; the dashed “forecast” arrow is the weather model’s wind.