My first thought, from the comfort of the couch under the ceiling fan was,
"He should have released immediately." Upon reflection, the pilot performed
safely and successfully, so what's there to criticize? I especially liked
the part about holding the canopy closed with the elbow through the window.
Nicely done!

The link in a previous message did not work. Was this the accident in
question?
http://dms.ntsb.gov/aviation/Acciden...2013120000.pdf

I knew him and was not surprised by the accident. I also watched him crash
a Nimbus 2 when he kited while the tow plane was still on the ground during
the takeoff run.
http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/br...11X12380&key=1
This was before the accident with a passenger on board.



"2G" wrote in message
...
On Saturday, June 15, 2013 6:03:38 AM UTC-7, Walt Connelly wrote:
I found this on YouTube and I would be more interested in what the crowd

on Aviation Banter/Soaring had to say. I am impressed that this

individual would post his video, has to be a bit embarrassing. Lots of

second guessing and backseat flying in the comments but I think he did

the right thing. What say you, far more experienced glider pilots?



Walt



https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...v=r0I75OZmA-0#!









--

Walt Connelly

I won't 2nd guess his decision to stay on tow to evaluate the situation. I
give him credit for continuing to fly the glider with no perceptible
deviations. Contrast this to an accident at Ephrata, WA where a water bottle
came loose in the cockpit shortly after becoming airborne. The glider pilot
became preoccupied with grabbing the bottle and reflexively pulled back on
the stick. The glider kited, pulling up the tail on the tow plane. The tow
plane pilot was subsequently killed when the tow plane hit the ground (the
forces on the tow hook exceeded the pilot's ability to pull the release).

PLEASE, the 1st priority is ALWAYS to fly the plane, especially at low
altitude.

Tom