This article follows one climb in order: controlling the wing the moment you hit the thermal, starting your first 360 with the 4/90 rhythm, then reversing the turn when the core lies on the other side.
⚡ The moment you hit the thermal
Here is how to read the situation and react to optimize your altitude gain:
🚀 1. When the glider pitches forward
This happens most often on high-end wings. The canopy tends to bite into the lift and surge forward. 🎯 What to do: put that energy to work — apply brake to convert speed into height. 🪞 The mirror rule: mirror what the air does. If the thermal shouts at you (a strong surge), shout back with a decisive brake input. If it only whispers, brake very gently. Get this right and you'll climb immediately.
⚓ 2. When the glider pitches back
When you hit a sharp-edged wall of air, the wing can fall back behind you. 🧘♂️ What to do: be patient and wait. Don't rush to intervene. The wing will use its stored energy to surge forward again on its own. ⚠️ Warning: never intervene out of rhythm. If you let the wing fall too far back and it then surges too hard forward without timely braking, you'll swing beneath the canopy. At that point you have to brake deeply to damp the oscillation, and you lose height for nothing.
⚖️ The Ultimate Technique: Controlling the "90-Degree Point"
The key to not breaking the golden rule of smoothness lies in the moment the wing surges up to the vertical, directly overhead: ✅ Brake on the beat, for long enough: apply just enough brake and hold it just long enough to stop the wing right above your head. ❌ Too short a stab: you swing out in front of the wing. ❌ Holding too long: the wing is held back and loses momentum. When you release, it dives forward again and the pendulum cycle starts over.
🧠 In short
When you hit a strong thermal, especially when the lift catches one side, this is no longer the moment for slow deliberation. Body balance and a precise braking reflex — in both strength and duration — are what let you slide into the thermal core smoothly. 🦅
⭕ Your first 360° turn
Hit a lift? The natural reflex for many is to pull the brakes and turn immediately. But wait! The secret to not wasting altitude on useless turns lies in staying calm. Below are the core principles to help you truly master thermals from your very first turns.
⏱️ 1. The 4-second rule: real lift or false lift?
When you feel the glider hit a lift, count to 4 in your head (equivalent to the glider traveling about 40m further). ✅ "Real" thermal (with energy): Gives a solid feeling; it's as if the glider grabs onto the airflow and is distinctly "pulled up". ❌ "Fake" thermal (thermal bubble or turbulence): You will feel the glider drop slightly and seem much more "bouncy" or inconsistent. 💡 Pro Tip: Sensing this subtle difference will help you avoid being fooled, saving you a ton of time and precious altitude by preventing useless 360-degree turns.
🌀 2. Starting the turn: smooth wins
If the lift is still strong after 4 seconds, determine which side is lifting stronger to decide your turn direction. But don't forget these golden rules: ✅ Priority #1: Turn to avoid obstacles ✅ Priority #2: Turn towards the side with stronger lift ✅ Priority #3: Turn into the wind (upwind) How to turn: ✅ Weight-shift: Use your hips to apply a decisive force so that your hips are at a 90-degree angle to your spine. Don't slouch; keep your core engaged and balanced. The ideal posture is when your nose is parallel to the riser. ✅ Inside brake: Pull down smoothly (absolutely no jerking) at a rate of about 5 - 10cm per second until you reach the desired bank angle.
Weight-shift: The ideal posture is when your nose is parallel to the riser
🎵 3. The 4/90 rhythm: keeping your energy
Sudden changes in direction will only make the glider pitch, pendulum, and lose altitude unnecessarily. Memorize this turning rhythm: ✅ The first 90 degrees: Takes about 5 seconds (because the glider slows down slightly as it enters the thermal). ✅ The subsequent 90-degree angles: Maintain a steady 4 seconds for each quarter turn.
🙌 4. What each brake hand does
Once the glider has established a stable turning circle, stop over-controlling it and let both hands do their respective jobs: ✅ Outside brake (The Performance Tool): Acts as a shock absorber. It controls the pendulum effect, preventing the glider from rocking too much and maintaining a smooth turning trajectory. ✅ Inside brake (The Steering Tool): Acts as the steering wheel. You ease up or pull the inside brake to open or tighten the turn, shifting the glider to sweep the area for better lift (this process is called Mapping).
🎯 In short: free up your mind
In free flying, smoothness is the "Golden Rule". Until you can execute the 4/90 turn rhythm so smoothly that it's embedded in your muscle memory, you shouldn't worry about advanced "centering" tactics. Only when your hands and feet are no longer clumsy with conscious reflexes will your mind be truly freed to feel the lift and master the sky!
↔️ Reversing the turn in a thermal
🔁 When do you need to reverse the turn?
In the section above, you completed your first 360. But after a turn or two you may realise you are circling the wrong way: the thermal core is clearly off to the other side of your circle, or another pilot is already turning in the opposite direction in the same thermal. The most familiar way to reverse is a decisive weight shift to the opposite side while swapping brakes: release the brake on the side you were turning and pull the other one.
⚠️ Key points to stress: ✅ Although this is a legitimate technique, an abrupt change of direction will always cost you height. ✅ If the lift is strong, you will still be fine, because the thermal makes up for an inefficient reversal. ✅ However, throwing your weight across aggressively makes the wing roll hard from side to side, as if you were doing a wingover. That is great when you want to lose height fast, but it lacks the finesse needed for light lift.
💡 The fix: a gentle side-slip
In this situation, use a side-slip to reverse the turn more efficiently: ✅ Keep your weight neutral, or shift it only very slightly. ✅ Brake to slow the wing down noticeably on the side of the new turn, so it "slips" sideways towards the lift. ✅ Then gradually shift your weight to that side, gently easing off the outside brake while adding more inside brake.
🎯 Practical advice
This is a far more refined way to reverse and it is very efficient. However, if the thermal is both weak and narrow, take care not to slip for too long, or you may fall out of the front of the thermal.
🔄 After completing your 360
Once you have flown a full 360, it is time to start thinking about your next tactics to get the best possible climb rate!