Ground Operations, Margins, and Safety

Well said but there could also be other extenuating circumstances. For example, when I run a wing I actually run and I pay more attention when it is a c of g hook. Too often I see wing “runners� take a couple of steps and let go or worse, are so slow they end up holding the wing back.. Everyone plays a part in a safe launch and as we have seen time and time again, it is usually more than one factor that results in the accident.

On Thursday, March 18, 2021 at 2:26:10 AM UTC-4, 2G wrote:
On Wednesday, March 17, 2021 at 11:15:14 AM UTC-7, Dgtarmichael wrote:
On Wednesday, March 17, 2021 at 10:43:48 AM UTC-5, Papa3 wrote:
On Wednesday, March 17, 2021 at 11:37:28 AM UTC-4, wrote:
Hey Erik,

You posted on RAS rather than the club group as you probably intended.

All the best,
Daniel
So I did. Still applies.
Whenever I someone states or writes, "release immediately if you drop a wing." I cringe.
This is well intentioned but bad advise. If your wing touches the ground, the horses have already fled the barn! You must release before the wing touches the ground as a best practice because, while some types will let you get away with it under some conditions there are MANY other less forgiving examples. I did not wittness V12's accident but it sounds like the release occured early in the sequence if the excursion was upright and only 30 degrees off center. If release is delayed they stray farther off centerline, pitch up, bounce, cartwheel, and end up inverted. I have three friends who've taken this ride now.

Doug
WTF? So WHAT are you supposed to do when the wing hits the ground and you're still connected, hold on and hope for the best? OF COURSE you release!! Truth is the wing will drop faster than you can recognize it and pull the release - been there, done that. In any event, the wing was going to drop for reasons out of the pilot's control and he already had energy that had to be dissipated due to the speed he was going. The other pilot's blatant violation of the safety rules is what really caused this accident.

Tom

On Thu, 18 Mar 2021 11:25:57 -0700, wrote:

Too often I see wing “runners� take a couple of
steps and let go or worse, are so slow they end up holding the wing
back.

Rules:

1) ALWAYS hold the wing you're running with at the trailing edge AND
balance the aircraft so there's no up or down force on the tip you're
holding, which should be the downwind wing. Yes, this does mean that the
upwind wing will be lower than the one you're holding, but that's OK: if
you're not countering and up or down force the wing won't drop
immediately you let go of it.

2) Refuse the launch if the runner has their hand round the LE: thats jus
another acxcident waiting to happen.

We use these rules for both winch and aero-tow launches.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org