wrote:

I believe the best "combat" landout mode for keeping a glider on the
ground in high winds is to orient the glider 90 degrees to the wind
and expend all resources on keeping the upwind wing on the ground. I
have seen it used to good effect in extreme wave/rotor conditions
using a tractor tire, tiedown kit, rocks, and the pilot's body.

"orient the glider 90 degrees to the wind and...keep... the upwind wing
on the ground" was what I was taught 'way back when' (in the good old
days learning on 2-33's and 1-26's...and I think it's Great Advice for
low-wingloaded ships. I mean - absent a real tiedown, of course.)

Since then, I've come to believe there's a better approach for
15-meter-span plastic ships. I've used it (when I've had to) in the
Rocky Mountain West since the mid 1980's for my 15-meter-span Zuni. Note
the HUGE CAVEAT (which no lawyer made me put in).

HUGE CAVEAT: This assumes wind from a constant direction!!!

I put the UPwind wing UP.

Short of a wind strong enough to actually lever the ship up and over its
downwind wing (in which case I don't want to be anywhere *near* gliders,
tied down or otherwise!), this is the stable position, as critical
assessment at many windy gliderports will (usually, quickly) show.

The most severe test ever given my ship was on an outlanding at a
deserted airport in a wind exceeding 30 knots, with gusts almost
certainly over 45; while I was waiting for my crew, a chain-reaction
fatal interstate accident happened nearby, induced by blowing dust and
inappropriate driver reactions. Though in July, with ground temps above
90F when I landed, well before sunset, concern over hypothermia induced
me to abandon the ship for the shelter of a fuel truck cab.

Thanks to the zephyr, the most difficult aspect was extracting myself
from the cockpit without damaging the (~5' long, removable)
canopy...which is why I made no attempt to stay with/in the ship after
trekking for a phone. I watched the ship until it got dark; beyond
'floppy-wing-assisted' rocking, it never budged.

YMMV,
Bob W.