Sorry for a double post but it’s much better to just undo some of the things from the first thread. It’s only the stock gliders I have significant trouble with. I don’t know if it’s the glide ratios of 48 versus 58 though that certainly doesn’t help. The flightsim gliders such as the AS 33 me; or the JS3 Rapture were both much more flyable.
So much so I was able to have successful flights with them fairly easily. The thermal images don’t really line up with anything and are unreliable to an extent.
Powerful thermals do persist; so I’m not sure what’s going on with the mirage effect of the weaker ones.
The problems with thermals largely disappear at altitude so it’s more of a below 1000 - 3000 feet ground level issue than above.
I did ground tests too.
Only one layer of wind actually works right now or at least there’s a primary layer and it matters most. That layer works in the following way. If it’s above you it generates some lift/drag. If it’s below you it generates more lift/drag. If it’s closer to you it generates more.
Wind at 60,000 feet will affect waves.
The differences are negligible. A 70kts wind at 60,000 feet has the same impact as a ~60kts wind at ground level. Not a joke.
I’m not sure how well when the custom is saved that it handles changing instance to instance (exiting the map and starting a new one) because I had some wild results on my 2nd test loading from the preset. Basically 100kts winds 1000 feet above Tokyo. This was with normal wind settings and I don’t know how those winds are generated in game mechanics; perhaps something to do with cumulus and their down drafts.
I’ll have something on all that when I post tidbits of my highly successful Tokyo glide.
I have worked up a rather interesting weather preset to help glide in the junkers that come standard with MSFS. But; with the Flightsim gliders there’s really no need for those presets, a successful “live weather” flight was conducted.