On Sep 13, 2:35 pm, "Vaughn Simon"
wrote:
"Tim Taylor" wrote in message

ps.com...

We are the only sport I know of that does not use helmets for the
speeds/energies we deal with. Possible types of accidents where a
helmet would be useful include midairs were the cockpit is damaged, in
air incapacitation due to head trauma from turbulence, take off and
landing accidents where the glider impacts objects, and accidents
where the glider ends up inverted.

Things can get rough inside a glider. I have heard of glider pilots hitting
their heads on the canopy hard enough to cause momentary loss of control. (One
particularly scary case involved a man who was taking a grandkid for a ride and
nearly crashed after being temporarily incapacated following a tow upset.) In
some gliders there are sharp targets within reach of a whiplashing skull. I
have had a few knocks myself over the years. A bicycle helmet would seemingly
go far towards preventing the types of head injuries one might get inside a
glider.

Vaughn

The possibility of incapacitated following hitting the canopy is very
concerning. It may even explain some unexplained accidents. Maybe at
the minimum we should all add some foam padding under our hats. I
still occasionly see pilots flying with baseball caps with a button on
top. This can really hurt (and shatter the canopy).

Ramy