When you fly at the slope - you will obviously be flying in wind - sometimes considerable wind. Accordingly, the cone of safety is even more important as to be blown behind you will mean you are plowing right into danger terrritory - trees - roads, powerlines and rotors. What's a rotor? - read on - but first - here is a reminder of the Cone of Safety.

A rotor is the turbulence at the back of the slope, this often includes a strong down draft - and is NOT a good place for your plane to get into.

A common fault of beginners is to launch up - only to have the wind pick up their plane, cause it to stall, and then throuw it behind then out of control. As you've read this site you will have noted the importance of airspeed over the wings and control surfaces - so launch forward - away from the slope, down if necessary so that the plane can be pushed outwards away from the slope and straight into lift.

A common mistake for the new pilot is to turn the plane downwind suddenly and, although having plenty of speed over the ground, have no speed relative to the wind which is now going the same direction as the plane. A lack of speed and lack of height are an unforgiving combination. If you do have enough wind speed to fly down wind you will be flying VERY fast.

The clever trainer will begin when the day is relatively calm so the beginner will have plenty of control and no major surprises. However soon enough the day will come when the wind is stronger and the plane flies faster. The first big danger is the launch, where the nose of the plane wants to lift, the plane stalls and the strong wind blows the plane back behind the pilot into the trees / powerlines / road behind. To avoid this, some down trim will probably be required and some extra weight may also be required in the nose.

In a strong wind, a light plane will not penetrate and will actually fly backwards. Further, the wing itself may be of such a shape that it will fly at its best when flown fast. Ballast, usually in the form of lead, can be added to provide this extra penetration. The clever builder will have allowed for this possibility and have a place were the extra weight can be added without upsetting the centre of gravity.

This is something that you will need your trainer / locals to assist you with - to avoid the rotors and obstacles on the slope. Be sure to give safety first priority and tell other fliers your intentions (and of any danger) and, if in doubt, deck it. People are more important than planes.

Don't land downwind as the speed you will be travelling downwind will probably kill your plane.

Sidle in sideways - as illustrated below.

With slope soaring you have plenty of opportunities to come around again - so keep doing so until your approach is just right - then LAND it - DON'T keep it just off the ground or the wind is likely to pick it up.

By now, you may have learned the advantage of spoilers to reduce lift!!

Much of the best lift out from the slope is caused by thermals rather than the wind up the slope - so if the wind drops a little it doesn't nean the lift will drop - in fact the lift may increase (!) because the wind that you were expecting to hit you is actually being sucked up by the thermal in front of you. And that is precisely where your plane should be - in front of you and going up with the thermal!