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Old June 5th 20, 05:38 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Martin Gregorie[_6_]
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Default Fatal Towplane Accident 5-9-20

On Fri, 05 Jun 2020 07:38:38 -0700, stu857xx wrote:

Training a new pilot probably needs a different story for the ideal
ground guy, but if ground starts trying to enforce some specific get
ready procedure, it seems a close call if he's helping or adding to the
distractions and making things worse?

IME this is a job for the instructor: he needs to teach "close, lock and
check that the canopy is locked" from his victim's first flight. If a
student does this check from their first flight (yes, even a trial
flight!), it will get engrained as part of their pre-flight routine.

What the check is depends on the glider. In an ASK-21 I apply light
pressure to the canopy just behind my head, in a side-opening G103,
Puchacz or Junior I apply upward pressure to the lock body (NOT the
locking lever!) and in my Libelle I twist the lock into place (visual and
feel as the expanding rod goes into the bearing at each end, then flip
the vent lever lever up and down to check that the bottom of the canopy
center rises up and then pulls down onto its seal: soft 'D' section draft
excluder round the front coaming and thick foam door seal strip over the
wing.

Finally, in a T.21 Sedburgh there is no canopy check because its an open
cockpit.


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