another crash

On Tuesday, September 3, 2019 at 8:10:53 PM UTC-7, Charlie Quebec wrote:
To be clear, I am refering only to the one piece DG canopy not the 2 piece. It’s clear in a nose first crash, the canopy would fly forwards, there is nowhere else for it to go, it’s not even in the picture of this crash.
I removed mine from my 200 after reading the crash report. I just use a feather pillow stuffed into the turtle deck area, works nicely.

A typical approach speed is 55 kt, or 63 mph. Does ANYBODY really think you can survive a frontal impact at that speed in a glider fuselage, which has minimal energy absorbing?

Well I do, going by the YouTube vid that shows the pilot surviving exactly that sort of crash.

Which YouTube video? An example of one person surviving doesn’t mean everyone does. There are also the obvious considerations such as impact surface, angle, etc.

The DG website states that :

“Since there is no crush zone in a glider as there is in an auto, a crash at higher velocities – mostly over 60 knots – is not survivable. In actual crash tests at “only� 30 knots and only directly on the nose, high loadings were measured with dire results for the pilot.�

I’m certain DG has added that headrest as part of the design of their sailplane - which is a certified aircraft. Removing it without proper authority may not be legal (or smart).

Nick

G Dale had a mid air in his DG100 in 2012 and bailed out. He said that the
canopy smashed him in the back of the head when he ejected it and
momentarily knocked him out.

In an incident/crash/accident there are typically three impacts;

The initial where the glider gets hit by something or hits something.
Secondly the body of the person hitting the inside of the glider whether
at force or not.
Thirdly the bodies internal organs hitting the skeleton or being
torn/ripped out from their normal position, that's the one that potentially
kills /damages the pilot.

The DG/LS folks are really pushing the Roeger hook to prevent a DG canopy from smacking you in the back of the head by forcing the canopy to rotate at the rear and then up and out of the way.

Rear more he
https://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/en/lib...he-roeger-hook

Does anyone know of a bailout from a PIK 20 D or E ( one piece canopy)

John F

Not having read the report, I wonder:Â* As the canopy rotates upward and
aft about the Roeger hook, given the position of the headrest, does it
rotate forward and upward hitting the pilot in the back of the head?Â* It
would be interesting to simulate this on the ground with a few people
and a bunch of hands to insure no damage.

On 9/4/2019 4:37 AM, John DeRosa OHM Ω http://aviation.derosaweb.net wrote:
The DG/LS folks are really pushing the Roeger hook to prevent a DG canopy from smacking you in the back of the head by forcing the canopy to rotate at the rear and then up and out of the way.

Rear more he
https://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/en/lib...he-roeger-hook

--
Dan, 5J

On Tuesday, September 3, 2019 at 9:34:50 PM UTC-7, Charlie Quebec wrote:
Well I do, going by the YouTube vid that shows the pilot surviving exactly that sort of crash.

I noticed you didn't provide a link to said video...

Charlie Quebec wrote on 9/3/2019 8:10 PM:
To be clear, I am refering only to the one piece DG canopy not the 2 piece. It’s clear in a nose first crash, the canopy would fly forwards, there is nowhere else for it to go, it’s not even in the picture of this crash.
I removed mine from my 200 after reading the crash report. I just use a feather pillow stuffed into the turtle deck area, works nicely.

I've been told by Schleicher designers that the headrest should not be soft, as
it's main function is to restrain rearward head motion.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/...anes-2014A.pdf