Originally Posted by
pylon500
Not knocking the idea/concept, and as you say, must have been thought of before, but I can see a few problems to resolve before this works;
•First off, it probably wont work while you're in a thermal, trying to look out through the temperature gradient, hoping to see the next thermol.
•Yes, thermol lift is generated by the temperature difference 'in the local area', this difference is possibly less than the change in temperature with altitude.
The problem I see being created here is that the sensor will have to look out horizontally (or slightly upwards) to avoid looking down into warmer air and just thinking there is lift everywhere.
This could imply the need for a gyro stabilised sensor?
•This is probably all reliant on there being clear enough air to see the minor temperature changes, as soon as there is haze, smoke, smog, dust, things get a bit harder.
Actually, speaking dust, back in my Hang Gliding days, many pilots swore by the use of 'rose' coloured sunglasses, which they said let them see dust columns (thermols) better, but this was in outback Australia soaring.
There are probably even more technical aspects to get around, that I haven't thought of here, but I wish you luck.