At 14:24 28 September 2012, Andreas Maurer wrote:
On Fri, 28 Sep 2012 10:53:11 +0000, David Salmon
wrote:


but I always claimed that it was the best training glider
available, it would do exactly what the pilot told it to do. One
exception,
that in spite of it's reputation, pre-solo pilots had difficulty making
it
spin.

Couple of letal spin accidents during winch launches in Germany with
instructors on board.
Pretty sure that the instructors did not tell the Puchacz to spin and
kill them and the student.

My 2 cents on the Puchacz.

Andreas

I really don't want to start this running, but many other glider types have
done exactly the same, when unfortunately the winch launch is not handled
correctly. See the BGA website, and what has been done in the UK to try to
eliminate this type of accident. I have seen it happen to an ASW20, know
the pilot of a Mosquito, who survived, and knew an ASW19 pilot who didn't.
Sorry, but don't blame the glider. BTW, the Mosquito accident in Germany
was the subject of a widely distributed video.
Dave