"Jay Honeck" wrote in
news:rftTj.95990$TT4.41859@attbi_s22:

We flew to Ames, IA (home of "That Other State College in Iowa") today
to schmooze and have lunch. Conditions when we got out of the hotel
at noon were breezy/gusty, 12 to 20, but pretty close to right down
the runway, and the sun was shining. At the end of another sell-out
crazy weekend, we NEEDED to fly.

Ames is home to an active glider operation (Mary and I took some
soaring instruction there a few years back), and today was no
different, despite the wind. Ames' Runway 19 was less than optimal,
with a gusty cross wind, but I managed to squeak 'er in without too
much turmoil. We were all glad to be back on terra firma, however,
after a very bumpy descent.

As I was standing on the wing stretching, enjoying the spring
sunshine, I observed the Super Cub tow plane starting down Rwy 19,
trundling along with the trainer in tow. In the blink of an eye, the
cross wind lifted the glider's port wing, causing the starboard wing
to dip. The glider caught the wingtip (I was too far away, but it
*looked* like in the grass), causing the glider to momentarily get
sideways.

The tow plane's tail, already airborne, jerked down hard -- but just
as quickly as we could gasp -- the glider's wings straightened up, the
tow plane started to fly right, and they were soon clawing for
altitude. Another cartwheel averted...

I shook my head as I jumped off the wing, amazed at how close a thing
aviation can be. We're always on the brink of disaster, it
seems...but most of the time things work out...



You're an idiot


Bertie