John Cochrane gives the following sage advice on gaggles:
First look hard to figure out which way the gaggle is turning. It's
easy to get this wrong!
Then, aim well outside the circle, at least one radius outside. It's
hard to end up just on a tangent, and aiming to do so will usually
lead to blasting through the middle of the circle, which will lead to
many annoyed radio calls. If you're lucky. Aiming outside is also good
insurance against an errant glider that you didn't see.
Slow down before you get to the gaggle. Don't hit the gaggle and pull
hard, as that will send you straight up. Anyway, there is often a lot
of rising air around the core and you might find a better core 2-3
diameters away from the gaggle. So get it down to 60-70 long before
you get near the gaggle.
Brakes? This seems like a looney idea. Much better to slow down by
gaining altitude, but do it far from the gaggle so you're not pulling
up in to someone.
While approaching the gaggle, don't just focus on the three gliders at
your altitude. Look above and below -- there are often gliders marking
other better cores. Look for gliders above and below you converging on
the gaggle. Look to the side -- try to find the other gliders who are
converging on the gaggle. Your job is to find the gliders you don't
see, not stare at the ones you do see!
Other gliders converging on the gaggle are usually staring straight at
the gaggle, not looking for you. Gliders will often whizz right past
the gaggle because they don't even see it's there. Most pilots in the
gaggle will only lookto the inside of their turn about 20 or 30
degrees, and almost never up or out. Thinking about "where is it
likely that they can see, and where are they likely to be looking and
not looking" is useful.
Start turning well outside the gaggle, and, yes, well outside the
lift. Then slowly edge your way in to the gaggle where there is a free
spot. Radio calls are fine. As above, many gliders in the gaggle will
not be looking outside for you.
It often happens that your vario will not show the lift for the first
half turn. Go with the gaggle for the first turn -- often this is just
vario lag, and they really do have it centered. Also, trying to
recenter the gaggle on your first turn is a bit presumptuous. Let them
see you're there before leading them off to better lift.
When evaluating the gaggle look for bank angle, climb rate, and
consistency of their turns. Are they well centered in a good core, or
are they waffling around in joint fear? Often, you want to use the
gaggle as a backup option, and explore other parts of the cloud first
to see if you can find a better core. I often head upwind of the
gaggle, trying to find a better core, then drift down to the gaggle
and only use it if I haven't found something better.
Chasing a gaggle from below is frustrating. Often you will be low, see
a gaggle ahead and 1000' or more above, head right below it... and
find nothing. Welcome to soaring.
In the gaggle, you will find many pilots using way too little bank
angle. Getting by them is contentious. No matter what they say, many
pilots will wait for a 20 degree boater to wander off into the sink,
then tighten up and go inside him. Though the tight glider's belly is
to the slow glider, the slow glider will usually have his eyes glued
to the inside of the turn. This is controversial, as most pilots say
"don't do it." And many pilots do it. If you're boating around in a 20
degree bank angle and the thermal seems choppy, expect others to cut
inside you. If you choose to cut in, make it really decisive to
establish the maximum separation between you and the outside glider. A
radio call wouldn't hurt either.
Of course you're not even thinking of looking at your vario. The other
gliders are much better indicators of where the lift is good or bad.
When you figure out which side is better, you can gently lead the
gaggle over to it in small steps. Move your circle half a radius to
the good lift; they'll see you doing better and follow. Then keep
going. Moving a whole diameter is a very bad idea as then you have
head on traffic where the two circles intersect.
While in the gaggle, look occasionally up and out. Keep track of all
the gliders around you by looking back.
Exiting the gaggle is hard too. Don't just suddenly roll out! Look
carefully out and over your shoulder. Then roll out slowly but
deliberately so that someone behind you knows what you're doing. Don't
even think of this Moffat bash-through-the-core stuff. Nobody does
that anymore anyway, since netto varios showed us that thermals are
surrounded by lift not cores of sink.
Flying directly above or below another glider is a very bad idea
without hundreds of feet separation. People pull up or dive down, or
hit lift and sink. The guy above cannot see anything, and the guy
below usually isn't looking up.
Gaggle etiquette also applies in cruise. The gaggle will typically
cruise together to the next thermal. When cruising with a gaggle, you
cannot do sharp pull ups or push overs. You can't see who is there,
and they can't see you. If you want to change course or go to a cloud
or bird the others don't see, do it gently.
New pilots to contests might say "I just won't fly gaggles," but
that's not realistic. On weak days, you have to fly the gaggles to
stay up. And anytime you turn, others will join you. It's not that
bad, and eventually even becomes an enjoyable part of contest soaring.
But do follow the rules of the road.
John Cochrane
BB (now "Bad Back" but getting better!)
