I always warn the tug pilot that I will open the airbrakes at an agreed
height. When the P2 notices the handle moving and the brakes coming out, I
tell him to watch the tug & stay in position.

When the tug gives the rudder signal, the pilot knows the airbrakes are
open and learns to associate the signal with the (likely) problem. He also
learns the need to close the brakes gradually rather than slam them shut.

I also ask the tug to wave us off at 100' lower than than the P2's
expected release height and I expect the student to release immediately.

I do this on every annual check that I'm asked to give. Failure to
recognise and act appropriately to a signal is reason for further
training. I've never had to fly more than two flights with anyone.

Edward

At 20:49 27 June 2008, Bill Daniels wrote:
Yes, glider pilots SHOULD know the rudder wag signal by heart but....

Typical training scenario: Instructor has arranged with tuggie to wag
rudder at a safe altitude so the student can actually see it happen.
Instructor then asks student to describe towplane signals which he does
accurately. At 1500'AGL the tug rudder wags as requested and the
student
releases instead of checking glider.

Instructor: Why did you do that? What were you supposed to do?
Student *%&^$$$

Repeat above approximately three times.

Bill D



"ZZ" wrote in message
om...
Ramy wrote:
On Jun 26, 5:47 pm, ZZ wrote:
Ramy wrote:
Two recent incidents which all sounds too familiar and we can all
learn from them:
1 - Another spoilers out/rudder waggle resulting in premature
release
- How many more of those we need till we conclude that the rudder
waggle does NOT work? What happened to radio communication?
http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief.asp?e...03X00777&key=1
2 - Another restricted control due to unsecured item. I bet this
caused more accidents then we know of.
http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief.asp?e...06X00809&key=1
Ramy
I favor the rudder waggle because it works IF the pilot is and
remains
properly
trained.
I was not involved in this pilot's training and I did not witness
the accident but I spoke to the involved pilot within 2 hours of the
event. This pilot, with a Commercial Glider certificate, admitted
that

he
misinterpreted the rudder waggle (confused it with the rock off).
This
seems to be a common
mistake in our sport. It is likely that on the day that he received
his
Commercial Glider rating he would not have made this error but
subsequent training, the Flight Review, plus his own personal
endeavors
to remain current, if any, clearly failed.

The only mandatory review of these procedures is the flight review.
I
have begun a personal vendetta against this problem not only in
training
new glider pilots but during all Flight Reviews. I urge all CFIGs to
emphasize this problem and I offer a couple of suggestions...

1. During the oral, instead of discussing the check glider
signal and
the rock off separately, I treat them as a pair of similar signals
which must be considered together to appreciate the distinction
between
them.
2. Just as we tell our students that a rope break or rock off

can
happen on any flight, I stress that a check glider signal
can also
occur on any flight and to be ready for all three on every launch.
3. Show the student both signals on the same flight. I
instruct
the tow
pilot to show the check glider signal at a safe altitude so if
the
student releases by mistake, the recovery is not difficult. Then on
the
same flight, the tow pilot rocks the glider off just below the
planned
release altitude. Feedback from the students and pilots in for a BFR
has
been positive, most stating that seeing both on the
same
flight really
underscored the difference for them.

These simple ideas are not revolutionary and you fellow CFIGS are
probably doing this routinely now. I think if we all work a little
harder on this one, I suspect we can make a serious contribution in
lowering the incidence of this problem.

Cheers,

Paul Corbett
ZZ

Since you know the details of this incident, any ideas if there was
an
attempt to use the radio first and if it was neccessary to waggle the
rudder at low altitude? Or are we just going to continue blame pilots
who missinterpret the signal?


Ramy

Ramy:

Good question. There was no radio in the glider. It was a warm
afternoon

at 4200 feet with light winds. The Pawnee had just been refueled. The
tow
plane was achieving less than 50 F/M into slightly rising terrain when
he
used the Check Glider signal.

Regarding blaming the glider pilot who misinterprets the signal...WHO
else
should be blamed? Both signals were establish in advance for a reason.
You
can bet that any tow pilot who values his skin knows the TWO signals
which
may save his life. Isn't it reasonable to expect that the glider pilot

should also know and retain these signals as well? There are only TWO.
I

applaud this tow pilot for having the cool for using the signal when he

did...he could have fed the glider pilot the rope. To be clear, I am
not

siding with tow pilots here nor am I trying to hammer this glider
pilot.
I
really want to focus on the training and especially the recurrent
training.

That why I advocate that if glider pilots see both often enough, they
are
less likely to confuse them.

Is every 24 calendar months often enough?

(Caps used for emphasis here.. I'm really not yelling.)

Regards,

Paul
ZZ