On Saturday, June 17, 2017 at 11:40:18 AM UTC-4, John Cochrane wrote:
Spoilers open on takeoff works. Until you're trying to take off high altitude, hot, cross-downwind, full of water, you won't notice the need. Then you will. You get a crucial second or two of better aileron control.

Thanks much Chip for the good post. Wing running is a constant problem at contests. I've had several incidents where despite my careful briefings, contest wing runners just can't get it right. The wings must be balanced, level, sloshed through the baffles, but if there is a significant cross wind (mifflin), the upwind wing cannot be high. You must run. This is not a 2-33.. Runway lights make it a higher priority.

It's hard to whine. The wing runners are volunteers, and spending a long hot day running wings for cranky pilots cannot be fun. Still, along with slow tows, this is a constant problem at contests, and perhaps more regular emphasis by contest management would help.

(Why must every contest start with a litany of "towplane alpha bravo, more speed please." "towplane alpha bravo, more speed please.".... )

John Cochrane

I don't fault the wing runner.
It was Chip's responsibility to have the glider with acceptable wing balance.
Possibly a very experienced wing runner might have stopped this event, but most don't have the experience or judgement.
This is the second case of serious wing drop due to balance at contest I have flown at this year. The other resulted in a glider not flyable.
The lessons I see he
1-The pilot must be careful to ensure balanced loading.
2-Line crews need to be trained to recognize imbalance and be prepared to stop the launch to correct. The line boss needs to be ready to confirm the problem or declare good to go.
3- We all need to ready and more incline to end a bad start.

FWIW
UH