Ever see that quality score in Advanced Thermal Analysis and wonder if it actually means anything? Good news: it does. It's not just vibes. Let's break down exactly how that number gets calculated so you can understand what separates "Fair" from "Excellent" - and what you can do about it.

The Big Picture

The Overall Thermal Score (0-100) is a weighted combination of five factors:

Factor	Weight	What It Measures
Climb Rate	30%	How strong was the lift?
Efficiency	20%	How direct was your climb?
Centering Quality	20%	How well did you stay in the core?
Consistency	15%	How stable were the vario readings?
Sustained Skill	15%	Did you actually work the thermal?

Each factor gets normalized to a 0-1 scale, multiplied by its weight, then the whole thing gets scaled to 0-100. Simple in theory, revealing in practice.

The Sustained Skill factor is key: it prevents high scores from brief pass-throughs. Flying through strong lift for 15 seconds doesn't prove thermalling skill - actually circling and working the thermal does.

The Formula

Here's the actual calculation from the codebase:

Quality Score = (climbScore * 0.30 +
                 efficiencyScore * 0.20 +
                 centeringScore * 0.20 +
                 consistencyScore * 0.15 +
                 sustainedScore * 0.15) * 100

How Each Component Is Calculated

1. Climb Score

climbScore = min(1, climbrate / 3.0)

Your average climb rate divided by 3.0 m/s (capped at 1). So 3 m/s or better = perfect score. Lower = proportionally less.

2. Efficiency Score

efficiencyScore = heightGain / horizontalDistance

Already a 0-1 value. Perfect efficiency (going straight up) = 1.0. The more you drift horizontally, the lower this gets.

3. Centering Score

centeringScore = centeringQuality

This comes from the core analysis algorithm - how much time you spent near the thermal's sweet spot. Already 0-1.

4. Consistency Score

consistencyScore = max(0, 1 - variability / 2.0)

Inverse of your vario variability (standard deviation of climb readings). Smooth thermal = high score. Bouncing between +5 and -2 m/s = low score. Variability of 2 m/s or more = zero consistency contribution.

5. Sustained Score

durationFactor = min(1, duration / 90)
turnFactor = min(1, turnCount / 2)
sustainedScore = durationFactor * turnFactor

Combines duration and turn count to reward actual thermalling work. Full score requires ~90 seconds AND 2+ complete turns. A 15-second pass-through with 0 turns scores near zero here, even if the other metrics look great.

Worked Example: Thermal #9

Let's walk through a real calculation using concrete numbers. Say you worked a thermal with these stats:

Metric	Value
Climb Rate	2.15 m/s
Efficiency	0.41 (41%)
Centering Quality	0.53 (53%)
Variability	0.92 m/s
Duration	75 seconds
Turn Count	3 turns

Step 1: Calculate Each Component Score

Climb Score:

climbScore = min(1, 2.15 / 3.0)
climbScore = min(1, 0.717)
climbScore = 0.717

Your 2.15 m/s climb rate is 71.7% of the "perfect" 3.0 m/s benchmark.

Efficiency Score:

efficiencyScore = 0.41

Already normalized. You gained 41% as much vertical as you traveled horizontal. Pretty typical for a drifty thermal.

Centering Score:

centeringScore = 0.53

You spent about half your time in decent lift. Room for improvement, but not bad.

Consistency Score:

consistencyScore = max(0, 1 - 0.92 / 2.0)
consistencyScore = max(0, 1 - 0.46)
consistencyScore = 0.54

Your vario variability of 0.92 m/s means the lift was somewhat turbulent, but not crazy.

Sustained Score:

durationFactor = min(1, 75 / 90) = 0.833
turnFactor = min(1, 3 / 2) = 1.0
sustainedScore = 0.833 * 1.0 = 0.833

You spent 75 seconds and made 3 complete turns - solid thermalling work.

Step 2: Apply the Weights

Now multiply each score by its weight:

Component	Score	Weight	Contribution
Climb	0.717	0.30	0.215
Efficiency	0.41	0.20	0.082
Centering	0.53	0.20	0.106
Consistency	0.54	0.15	0.081
Sustained	0.833	0.15	0.125
Total			0.609

Step 3: Scale to 0-100

qualityScore = round(0.609 * 100) = 61

Result: Overall Score of 61 - solidly in the "Good" range.

Interpreting Your Score

Score Range	Rating	What It Means
70-100	Excellent	Competition-level thermalling. You found the core fast and stayed in it.
50-69	Good	Solid work. You got the altitude without wasting too much time.
25-49	Fair	Got the job done, but left some performance on the table.
0-24	Poor	Struggled to find/keep the core, or conditions were truly awful.

What Each Component Tells You

Climb Rate (30% weight)

This is the most heavily weighted because... well, the whole point is going up. But don't obsess over it - sometimes a 1.5 m/s thermal you work perfectly is worth more XC miles than a 4.0 m/s thermal you keep falling out of.

Low climb score?

The thermal was genuinely weak (not your fault)
You spent too much time on the edges (check centering)
You were late to the party and caught only the top

Efficiency (20% weight)

Efficiency = height gained / horizontal distance traveled. A perfect helix going straight up would score 1.0 (and also be impossible in any real wind).

Typical values:

0.3-0.4: Normal, some drift
0.5-0.6: Very good, tight circles
0.6+: Excellent, minimal drift

Low efficiency?

Strong wind pushing you sideways
Wide circles or poor bank angle
Entering downwind and never correcting

Centering Quality (20% weight)

How much time you spent in the good stuff vs. wandering the edges. Calculated using an exponential distance decay from the core: the further from center, the faster your score drops.

Low centering?

Took a while to find the core
Kept drifting out and re-centering
The core moved (bubble thermal) or was very small

Consistency (15% weight)

Based on the standard deviation of your vario readings. Smooth, steady beep = high score. Vario going nuts = low score.

Low consistency?

Turbulent thermal (not always your fault)
Kept flying through the core and out the other side
Mixed lift and sink in the same turn

Sustained Skill (15% weight)

Combines duration and turn count to prove you actually worked the thermal vs. just passing through. Flying through 4 m/s lift for 10 seconds isn't thermalling - it's luck. This factor rewards pilots who commit to the thermal and work it properly.

Full score requires:

~90 seconds of duration (shorter thermals score proportionally less)
2+ complete turns (fewer turns score proportionally less)

The two factors multiply together, so you need BOTH to score well here. A 2-minute straight glide through lift (0 turns) scores zero. A single quick 360 in weak lift (10 seconds) also scores near zero.

Low sustained score?

You left the thermal too early
You didn't commit to circling (pass-through)
The thermal died before you could work it properly

How to Improve Your Score

Quick Wins

Tighten up when you hit lift - Don't wait, start turning immediately when the vario spikes
Shift your circle toward the lift - Classic centering technique: widen on the way out, tighten on the way in
Watch your bank angle - Too shallow = wide circles = drift. Too steep = inefficient in weak lift

Track Your Progress

Open the same thermal in the analysis tool after multiple flights from the same site. You'll start to see patterns:

"I always struggle centering at this launch"
"My afternoon thermals have better consistency"
"That new wing really improved my efficiency"

Don't Chase the Number

A score of 45 in a broken, punchy thermal might represent better flying than a 70 in a smooth, fat column. Context matters. Use the score to track your own progress over time, not to compare yourself to others on different days.

Behind the Scenes: Why These Weights?

The weights (30/20/20/15/15) weren't pulled from thin air. They're based on what actually matters for effective thermalling:

Climb rate leads (30%) because the primary goal is going up. A weak thermal worked perfectly is still a weak thermal.
Efficiency and centering share technique weight (20% each) because they're both about skill. You can have one without the other (good centering but drifting out, or tight circles in the wrong spot).
Consistency is a modifier (15%) because some turbulence is out of your control. It affects your score, but doesn't dominate it.
Sustained skill filters flukes (15%) because briefly flying through strong lift isn't thermalling - it's luck. This factor ensures high scores go to pilots who actually committed to working the thermal.

Example Scenarios

The Lucky Elevator Ride

Metric	Value	Score
Climb Rate	4.2 m/s	1.0 (capped)
Efficiency	0.65	0.65
Centering	0.78	0.78
Consistency	0.38 m/s	0.81
Duration / Turns	120s / 4 turns	1.0

Contributions: 0.30 + 0.13 + 0.156 + 0.122 + 0.15 = 0.86 Score: 86 (Excellent)

You hit a monster thermal, stayed in the core, and rode it for two solid minutes. Dream scenario.

The Brief Pass-Through (Penalized)

Metric	Value	Score
Climb Rate	3.5 m/s	1.0 (capped)
Efficiency	0.72	0.72
Centering	0.85	0.85
Consistency	0.45 m/s	0.78
Duration / Turns	18s / 0 turns	0.0

Contributions: 0.30 + 0.144 + 0.17 + 0.117 + 0.0 = 0.73 Score: 73 (Excellent... but barely)

Strong lift, great vario readings - but you flew straight through without committing to circle. The zero sustained score pulls this down significantly. In the old scoring system, this would have been 85+.

The Hard-Fought Climb

Metric	Value	Score
Climb Rate	1.8 m/s	0.60
Efficiency	0.38	0.38
Centering	0.45	0.45
Consistency	1.4 m/s	0.30
Duration / Turns	180s / 6 turns	1.0

Contributions: 0.18 + 0.076 + 0.09 + 0.045 + 0.15 = 0.54 Score: 54 (Good)

Weak thermal, broken core, lots of searching. But you stuck with it for 3 minutes and made 6 turns. That persistence is rewarded.

The Core Crusher

Metric	Value	Score
Climb Rate	2.4 m/s	0.80
Efficiency	0.52	0.52
Centering	0.85	0.85
Consistency	0.65 m/s	0.68
Duration / Turns	95s / 3 turns	1.0

Contributions: 0.24 + 0.104 + 0.17 + 0.102 + 0.15 = 0.77 Score: 77 (Excellent)

Moderate thermal, but you absolutely nailed the centering and worked it properly. Technique over power.

The Bottom Line

The Overall Thermal Score isn't meant to judge you - it's meant to give you feedback. A numerical summary of "what happened in there" so you can learn from each thermal instead of just remembering "that was a good one."

Use it to:

Spot patterns in your flying
Track improvement over time
Identify specific weaknesses to work on
Brag to your friends with actual data

And remember: even a "Fair" thermal that got you to the next climb is better than an "Excellent" one you didn't take because you were waiting for something better.

Now go fly something!