FIRST COMMUNION

It was time for a new student's first try at thermaling, and I got all giddy recalling the delight of my own very first unassisted success. Simply staying in the thermal long enough to slow gravity for a while seemed such a miracle, I muttered to myself all evening and mourned that I couldn't do it again the very next day. If his kid fares no better, I thought, he'll have enough to think about for now.

As we settled in beneath the nearest circling glider I explained that the pilot above us was an airline captain with beaucoup soaring experience whose ship was both slicker and more maneuverable. "We can expect him to climb away, but let's see what we can learn before he leaves us behind."

Holding station beneath the other bird I gave over control, and half a circle later the wide oscillations began on every axis. "Try not to jerk the stick," I said for the zillionth time, "and hold your nose steady on the horizon while we're turning." And so on, the usual litany. But this student was quick. Adopting my tweaks eagerly as if he they were his own, soon he was correcting his mistakes unprompted and we began to gain on the ship above...

The thermal we shared was rising from one of several vertical chutes between buttresses from a higher ridgeline. Noting that conditions of sun angle and wind direction favored a similar spot nearby, I said, “You’re doing fine already. Now let’s straighten out and cross this spur for the next bowl, to see what's different about it.”

Immediately we found better lift and after topping out there, moved on again. Meanwhile the airline captain remained in that first thermal, higher than before, but now hundreds of feet lower than us. As our lesson continued we forgot him, but heard later that on this very flight he eventually flew 400 miles before landing two states away!

So we see that an apt beginner with earnest effort and a little help might harness atmospheric energy as efficiently as a proud old-timer lulled into indifference by the twin luxuries of high performance and premium soaring weather. If you believe only one thing, let it be this: soaring great distances on a perfect day can be more fun than anyone deserves to have, but in a modern racing sailplane it's no heroic feat. Those who soar in weak or difficult conditions or in low performance craft need not feel deprived or deficient. And the same for those who are just starting out! Better to enjoy making the most of what IS NOW, and laying an essential foundation for terrific adventures still to come.