At 21:55 27 April 2009, wrote:

Good job - That's the kind of situational awareness that will keep you
alive! A subtle learning point is that you didn't assume the
instructor saw the problem developing. Aways good in a two-place to
call out all traffic or "developing situations" - surprizing how often
the other guy is unaware of what is going on, and vice versa!

It seems to me that this situation should have been seen developing a long
time before turning final. Before I start my pattern, I'll always try and
get a good look to see where everybody else is on the ground. The glider
being launched, and the towplane, must have been staged at the opposite
end of the field well before the landing glider started its pattern.
Unless there are some visual obstructions (which would be a real safety
problem if so) then somebody (well actually everybody) missed seeing this
early on.

For that matter, somebody on the ground (like maybe the tow pilot) should
have seen the glider entering the pattern in the opposing direction. At
the fields I fly at regularly, anybody (glider pilot, tow pilot, wing
runner) would have delayed the launch until the glider had landed.

Or maybe there are some extenuating circumstances?

Jim Beckman