Club Procedures for Late Day XC Flights

Friends:
I am trying to learn more about how different clubs with active XC pilots flying privately owned gliders handle the problem of determining "Is everybody back safely?" - before everybody at the airport goes home.

In my club we frequently shut down training operations around 5:00 pm or so and the day's Duty Officer, the instructors and tow pilots will all leave, but we will often still have pilots out on course sometimes as late as 7:00 pm or later. Some pilots have landed back to find that they are the only ones at the airfield. It has happened to me several times.

It seems that there is a real risk of an accident happening on course and nobody realizing it until the next day, or a risk that somebody lands out safely but that fact is not communicated back to the airfield (with a lot of unnecessary worry and confusion).

I'm trying to come up with a procedure that makes sense for our club and so I was hoping people would share here how they try to solve this problem.

Thanks
Roy B.
GBSC Chief Pilot

On Thursday, April 5, 2018 at 9:42:00 AM UTC-4, Roy B. wrote:
Friends:
I am trying to learn more about how different clubs with active XC pilots flying privately owned gliders handle the problem of determining "Is everybody back safely?" - before everybody at the airport goes home.

In my club we frequently shut down training operations around 5:00 pm or so and the day's Duty Officer, the instructors and tow pilots will all leave, but we will often still have pilots out on course sometimes as late as 7:00 pm or later. Some pilots have landed back to find that they are the only ones at the airfield. It has happened to me several times.

It seems that there is a real risk of an accident happening on course and nobody realizing it until the next day, or a risk that somebody lands out safely but that fact is not communicated back to the airfield (with a lot of unnecessary worry and confusion).

I'm trying to come up with a procedure that makes sense for our club and so I was hoping people would share here how they try to solve this problem.

Thanks
Roy B.
GBSC Chief Pilot

New for 2018... we've suggested to our XC pilots that they adopt cell phone, spot or inreach tracking and we will have a screen set up in the clubhouse that shows live tracks. Most are opting for cell based solutions (glidetrack for iOS and IGCdroid for Android). This is extra important at Post Mills because most of our cell phones do not receive calls or txt at the airport (however cell based tracking works fine in the traffic pattern and beyond).

best,
Evan Ludeman / T8

Practically in our club the late-flying XC pilots buddy up with specific people (whether they are flying, on the field, or at home) to be on call as crew for a potential retrieve. I.e. it is not seen as a club procedure. When a few people fly on a weekday that's the necessary procedure, and after-hours on a weekend can be handled the same way. Although of course if the call comes in early enough on a weekend any club member present may volunteer to do the retrieve. Also the last people to leave the field while somebody is still in the air sometimes try and reach that pilot by radio.

As Evan said we've been debating the tracking issue at the club. My personal opinion is that cellphone-based tracking is fun and games but not a solution for the late-day retrieval nor much of a safety bonus. If somebody lands where there isn't cell service, then the tracking just stops somewhere and there is no way to know whether that pilot landed or not, is safe or not. If they land where there is cell service or a landline, they can simply call after landing. That worked in 1968 and still works 50 years later.

Since we have no cell service at the club's airfield, but do have WiFi, some cellphones can operate via the WiFi, others can use the Google Voice app for texting, and we also installed a WiFi-based "landline" phone in the clubhouse. Many club pilots also carry a SPOT or PLB device in case of a real emergency.

In years past on any given day in Prescott I would be the last one out and come back to an empty field. Not much of an issue as I have always flown with a Spot tracker and my significant other would be watching at home. But more recently we have grown the xc contingent and few hang around till I get back (Im still usually last) for post flight debriefing and disassembly. The radio in our winch can be heard and recieve up to 50 miles away and if I hear them shutting down Ill Ill call and update my position and ETA back. Cold beer in the cooler helps keep people there longer too

On Thu, 05 Apr 2018 06:41:58 -0700, Roy B. wrote:

Friends:
I am trying to learn more about how different clubs with active XC
pilots flying privately owned gliders handle the problem of determining
"Is everybody back safely?" - before everybody at the airport goes home.

In my club we frequently shut down training operations around 5:00 pm or
so and the day's Duty Officer, the instructors and tow pilots will all
leave, but we will often still have pilots out on course sometimes as
late as 7:00 pm or later. Some pilots have landed back to find that they
are the only ones at the airfield. It has happened to me several times.

It seems that there is a real risk of an accident happening on course
and nobody realizing it until the next day, or a risk that somebody
lands out safely but that fact is not communicated back to the airfield
(with a lot of unnecessary worry and confusion).

I'm trying to come up with a procedure that makes sense for our club and
so I was hoping people would share here how they try to solve this
problem.

We have a sheet at the launchpoint (UK club). Everybody planning on going
XC puts an entry on it giving glider ID, mobile number, planned task
(which may be 'local') and mobile number for their crew. This, in
conjunction with the launch point log, lets the duty instructor check
whether everybody is back at the end of the day and, if people aren't
back, where they were planning to go and their mobile number.

The club also has a dedicated landout number which anybody can answer if
the office has closed for the day.

In addition the club is on the OGN network. All club gliders and almost
all our private gliders carry FLARM, so we can easily see if they're
still flying.

While I realise that the OGN/FLARM part of this may not work outside
Europe and the UK, our paper procedure should work everywhere.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

On Thursday, April 5, 2018 at 9:42:00 AM UTC-4, Roy B. wrote:
Friends:
I am trying to learn more about how different clubs with active XC pilots flying privately owned gliders handle the problem of determining "Is everybody back safely?" - before everybody at the airport goes home.

In my club we frequently shut down training operations around 5:00 pm or so and the day's Duty Officer, the instructors and tow pilots will all leave, but we will often still have pilots out on course sometimes as late as 7:00 pm or later. Some pilots have landed back to find that they are the only ones at the airfield. It has happened to me several times.

It seems that there is a real risk of an accident happening on course and nobody realizing it until the next day, or a risk that somebody lands out safely but that fact is not communicated back to the airfield (with a lot of unnecessary worry and confusion).

I'm trying to come up with a procedure that makes sense for our club and so I was hoping people would share here how they try to solve this problem.

Thanks
Roy B.
GBSC Chief Pilot

We ask that our pilots make sure someone has an idea where they are going during the day. This can be by contact with ground or by radio to a tug or other pilot.
Late in the day we check by radio as to status. It is expected that one of the other XC pilots will stick around for take apart or fetch. This works most of the time.
If a pilot expects that there will be a tug for a retrieve, he must check in and request. Otherwise tug pilots leave at the end of ops.
Virtually all our pilots have Spot or other trackers.
FWIW
UH

Hahahahaha...ROTFLMAO........
Seriously, this method has worked well......so far. May be better ways.

Why do I LOL?

I did an early spring flight. In the air, I found we had a radio issue in my ship. Also no glide computer, etc. I guesstimated about 7 miles/thousand feet altitude (poor for a decent ASW-28, no real wind).
Fine while flying close to another club member maybe 15 miles from home.
Then we split.

I had no contact to anyone from then on for the most part.

Rule one, I have to have a way to get home if I land out......my problem. Maybe stay more local.
Rule two, "what would MacGuyver do"?

I found I could "just see a cell tower" coming up in bars, then (keeping my cellphone above the carbon cockpit) hit "send" to my son (at the airport) and say......"5k' over Sussex, heading to the gap".
This send thang took about 5 tries until I got a sent message.

No, not good, although plenty of fields and some airports if I had no reply.
Eventually got a reply.
Home knew where I was and goal.
I hit a forest fire late in the day, went to about 8K above the field a little over silver distance away.
Final glide was made, no drama.

They knew I was up, but, until my text, had no clue where. Last club member visual on me was about 90* to my last course.

Yes, give peeps an idea where you are.

I am not sure if our club is looking at changing procedures...... But, good suggestion.

A note about texting in an environment of iffy connections or cellphones that are sometimes turned off (or to "airplane mode"): When one finally receives the text message, the time stamp on it is when it was received. There is no indication of when it was sent. That could have been much earlier, and even if the message says "I'm still flying" that pilot may have landed out since. When composing such a message you may want to add a time stamp into the body of the message: "still flying at 1740".

On Thursday, April 5, 2018 at 11:22:53 AM UTC-4, wrote:

As Evan said we've been debating the tracking issue at the club. My personal opinion is that cellphone-based tracking is fun and games but not a solution for the late-day retrieval nor much of a safety bonus. If somebody lands where there isn't cell service, then the tracking just stops somewhere and there is no way to know whether that pilot landed or not, is safe or not.


At 7pm (or any other time), you'll see one of three things from a cell phone track, a) a track still being laid down, b) a track that stopped for some reason at near ground level, c) a track that stopped for some reason at some much higher altitude. There is useful information here in all three cases.


-Evan / T8

On Thursday, April 5, 2018 at 1:10:39 PM UTC-4, Tango Eight wrote:
On Thursday, April 5, 2018 at 11:22:53 AM UTC-4, wrote:

As Evan said we've been debating the tracking issue at the club. My personal opinion is that cellphone-based tracking is fun and games but not a solution for the late-day retrieval nor much of a safety bonus. If somebody lands where there isn't cell service, then the tracking just stops somewhere and there is no way to know whether that pilot landed or not, is safe or not.


At 7pm (or any other time), you'll see one of three things from a cell phone track, a) a track still being laid down, b) a track that stopped for some reason at near ground level, c) a track that stopped for some reason at some much higher altitude. There is useful information here in all three cases.


-Evan / T8

Case "C" ("a track that stopped for some reason at some much higher altitude") may mean: glider entered an area with no cellphone coverage even at higher altitudes. Or, maybe the glider descended too low for cellphone coverage in that area, and is currently on the ground - or working on a low save. Or, it may mean that the battery in the cellphone died. Or the app crashed (not the glider). Or the cellphone slipped under the pilot and lost GPS signal. In short, not a lot more info than having no tracking at all.