Friends, please note a new e-mail address. (Remove the underscores) Bill Daniels

Can anyone post a link to a glider accident database. The BGA accident database seems to be unavailable at the link I had bookmarked last year. I am particularly interested in the DAeC or BGA databases. Bill Daniels

See: http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220050208925%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20050208925&RS=DN/20050208925 Bill Daniels

I wonder if these guys have fireproof flying suits. See: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051018075220.htm Quote from article: "Previous observations near the Andes Mountains in Peru had found that the atmosphere directly above some peaks was approximately 100 Kelvin hotter than in...

This is just a data point for those having problems with OLC files. I last evening I downloaded a 4 hour flight logged at a 4 second intervals. The secure .igc file downloaded in 12 seconds. The VL took 45 seconds to 'calculate the key' before starting the download. The high-speed serial port...

This type of accident has a long history. I've had pilots pull the spoiler instead of the release, retract the gear on downwind after flying all day with it down and pull the rudder adjustment instead of the release. I've known several to reach for the red knob on the panel expecting to...

I broke my TE probe at the fin socket. (Imagine cussing and dirt kicking) After a bit more cussing, I managed to fish the broken end out of the fin socket. (Of course, I did this AFTER assembling the Nimbus.) The TE probe appears to have been a RU single function type with aluminum two-hole...

Here is a couple of videos from YouTube of the modified Tost winch that set the altitude record and and of the view from the cockpit as the pilot does aerobatics on the way down. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VlRd9-wxQI (Search YouTube for "Hohenflug" if the link doesn't work.) BTW 1500...

I assume some of you are following the Junior Worlds competition in Reiti. I have found a free demo of "Silent Wings" viewer that can be downloaded free. (Google "Silent Wings viewer") You will also need to download the Italy scenery. Silent Wings Viewer can play back IGC files against the...

Lippmann in Germany reports a winch launch to 950 meters (3100'). http://www.lippmann.de/hoistline.htm Has anyone heard of a higher launch? Bill Daniels

I know there has been long threads about belts, 4-point, 5-point etc... I still think there is more that needs to be discussed. I am nursing a stiff neck from repeatedly banging my head against the canopy on a particularly violent encounter with wave rotor yesterday. The tow pilot is also nursing...

I have been conducting some bench experiments with my Bohli taut-band bellows with capillary leak vario to determine the system time constant. The set-up is a 0.45 liter glass vacuum flask attached to the vario with .5 meter of 3mm Tygon tubing with a 1cc syringe teed into the tubing at the flask. ...

Apparently, there are a few people out there working with Linux for gliding applications. (Thanks for the links) Maybe it's a good thing. I keep thinking that the potential user base in this space is so small that if the PDA based apps split it, there won't be all that much profit to support a...

This thought popped into my mind today. Lets say an occasion arises requiring the use of your out-of-date parachute. You leap clear of your damaged glider and pull the ripcord and, as we all expect, the 'chute works perfectly. Through dumb luck and many yanks on the risers, you manage to land on...

To celebrate the Spring Equinox, I hauled the Nimbus to Boulder, Colorado yesterday for the year's first flight. The 21Z ETA Blipmap forecast looked strange to say the least and I wasn't convinced that it was accurate. The blipmaps showed a strong subsidence over the mountains just west of...

Why not just winch launch the thing and leave all this FAR bible pounding behind? Bill Daniels

I've been analyzing the IGC files from my flights and comparing them to others. Generally, in good conditions, I'm circling less than 25% of the time. Other, far better pilots than I, are circling less than 15% of the time. This means that wind data that depends on the glider flying circles gets...

Can anyone point me to the official investigation report for this accident. There are several things that strike me as odd. Bill Daniels

I'm starting to put together my presentation on winch launch for the SSA convention in February and I need short video clips. Anything to do with winch launch will do but those that tell a story about winch launch operations will be especially appreciated. Thanks. Bill Daniels

One of the little things that seems missing in other reports was the buzz created by the Condor Competition Flight Simulator. There were several booths set up with it in use and one session about using it in flight instruction. People are wild about this thing. Bill Daniels