Step Turn wrote:
The vital key is to recognize the sudden change to glassy, and begin to climb immediately. The light ripple you're flying over can become glassy in an instant if the gentle breeze ceases. When you fly from the rippled area, to the glassy area, there will suddenly be no way to judge your height, so you'd better be in the climb. Or, if in a seaplane, perform a glassy water landing.
I think you're slightly over-dramatising it. With a little practice the transitions from ripple to glassy and back again can be managed by feel, and with eyes
outside the cockpit there are often subtle height clues to be seen on a glassy surface: