audio variometer going from the drone to excited beeping.  At the right time in the anticipated lift, begin the turn. If  everything has gone perfectly, the glider will roll into a  coordinated turn, at just the right bank angle, at just the right  speed, and be centered perfectly. In reality, it rarely works  that well. Before going further, what vital step was left out of the above  scenario? CLEAR BEFORE TURNING! The variometer  is hypnotic upon entering lift, especially at somewhat low  altitudes. This is exactly where pilots forget that basic  primary step before any turn—looking around first. An audio  variometer helps avoid this. take a guess, CLEAR, then turn. As a note, new soaring pilots  often get in the habit of turning in a favorite direction, to the  extreme of not being able to fly reasonable circles in the other  direction. If this happens, make an effort to thermal in the other  direction half the time—being proficient in either direction is  important, especially when thermaling with traffic. As a glider encounters lift on one side, some gliders tend to  slip laterally as indicated by the yaw string. The glider pilot  must bring the climbing wing down, not just to level the wings  but further to begin the turn into the lifting columns of air.  In these instances, the soaring pilot should turn towards the  tip of the yaw string to seek the lift. To help decide which way to turn, determine which wing  tends to be lifted. For instance, when entering the thermal  and the glider is gently banking to the right, CLEAR LEFT,  then turn left. A glider on its own tends to fly away from  thermals.  [Figure 10-7] As the glider flies into the first  thermal, but slightly off center, the stronger lift in the center  of the thermal banks the glider right, away from the thermal.  It then encounters the next thermal with the right wing toward  the center and is banked away from lift to the left, and so  on. Avoid letting thermals bank the glider even slightly.  Sometimes the thermal-induced bank is subtle, so be light on  the controls and sensitive to the air activity. At other times,  there is no indication on one wing or another. In this case,  Optimum climb is achieved when proper bank angle and speed  are used after entering a thermal. The shallowest possible  bank angle at minimum sink speed is ideal. Thermal size and  associated turbulence usually do not allow this. Large-size,  smooth, and well-behaved thermals can be the exception  in some parts of the country. Consider first the bank angle.  The glider’s sink rate increases as the bank angle increases.  However, the sink rate begins to increase more rapidly beyond  about a 45° bank angle. Thus, a 40° compared to a 30° bank  angle may increase the sink rate less than the gain achieved  from circling in the stronger lift near the center of the thermal.  As with everything else, this takes practice, and the exact bank  angle used depends on the typical thermal, or even a specific  thermal, on a given day. Normally, bank angles in excess of  50° are not needed, but exceptions always exist. It may be  necessary, for instance, to use banks of 60° or so to stay in  the best lift. Thermals tend to be smaller at lower levels and  expand in size as they rise higher. Therefore, a steeper bank  angle is required at lower altitudes, and shallower bank angles  can often be used while climbing higher. Remain flexible with  techniques throughout the flight. If turbulence is light and the thermal is well formed, use the  minimum sink speed for the given bank angle. This should  optimize the climb because the glider’s sink rate is at its  lowest, and the turn radius is smaller. As an example, for a  30° bank angle, letting the speed increase from 45 to 50 knots  increases the diameter of the circle by about 100 feet. In some  instances, this can make the difference between climbing or  not. Some gliders can be safely flown several knots below  minimum sink speed. Even though the turn radius is smaller,  the increased sink rate may offset any gain achieved by being  closer to strong lift near the thermal center. There are two other reasons to avoid thermaling speeds that  are too slow: the risk of a stall and lack of controllability.  Speed Inside a Thermal Bank Angle Figure 10-7.  Effect of glider being allowed to bank on its own when  encountering thermals. 10-6