Gear Warning

At 09:42 17 November 2005, im
Green wrote:
Ever seen a pilot with a fixation flying off the end
of the runway with
his gear going up and down instead of his spoilers?
Surprising how even
competent people can get caught out and flustered by
the unexpected. This
is a cost versus safety argument and you takes your
pick but BGA
recommendations are not cost-orientated.


No one, as far as I know, has ever been hurt while
landing wheel-up - but there have been a number of
injuries to those losing control while trying to lower
the u/c at the last minute.

I mentioned the fitting of a 'wheel-up/airbrakes out'
warning mechanism when I had my Jantar-3 refitted in
Poland.
They would not hear of it !

Oh - and it is quite possible to land wheel-up after
completing landing checks.
Believe me !

sta13.

Stanford Korwin wrote:

No one, as far as I know, has ever been hurt while
landing wheel-up - but there have been a number of
injuries to those losing control while trying to lower
the u/c at the last minute.

It seems a very rare event, at least in the US, as I don't remember any.
Perhaps some US pilots can offer examples. I do know a number of people
that have landed wheel up, of course. I can remember an incident where a
gear up landing at a small airstrip blocked the runway long enough to
making it difficult for the other landing gliders to do so safely.
Another incident that blocked a runway triggered an accident - no
injuries, fortunately, but the landing glider was damaged.

So, my experience is it's generally better to have the pilot get the
gear down, though I would hesitate to say anything on the radio if the
glider was already close to the ground. Certainly letting a pilot land
gear up on a wide grass runway, which would not be blocked and causes no
damage to glider, is the safest procedure. Narrow paved runways may tilt
the safety judgment in the other direction.

--
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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

So, my experience is it's generally better to have the pilot get the
gear down, though I would hesitate to say anything on the radio if the
glider was already close to the ground. Certainly letting a pilot land
gear up on a wide grass runway, which would not be blocked and causes no
damage to glider, is the safest procedure. Narrow paved runways may tilt
the safety judgment in the other direction.

Agree with Eric on this. I have flown at several UK sites and many US
sites. The landing options at UK sites are usually such that a
disabled glider is not a hazard to others. In US several sites only
have one paved or dirt runway available and a disabled glider can make
landing hazardous for all competitors that finish soon after. Parowan
would be a good example of that.

I have fitted gear warning in both my std class gliders. In over 2000
hours it has never gone off unexpectedly, but I intend to put the gear
down if it ever does. 2 weekends ago I had a call from another
finisher while I was on a close in base leg. He asked if my gear was
down. I had plenty of time to verify it was and to have put it down if
it wasn't. Keep calling me! I'll decide if I have time to put it down
or accept a gear up landing.


Andy

"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message
...
Stanford Korwin wrote:

No one, as far as I know, has ever been hurt while
landing wheel-up - but there have been a number of
injuries to those losing control while trying to lower
the u/c at the last minute.

It seems a very rare event, at least in the US, as I don't remember any.
Perhaps some US pilots can offer examples. I do know a number of people
that have landed wheel up, of course. I can remember an incident where a
gear up landing at a small airstrip blocked the runway long enough to
making it difficult for the other landing gliders to do so safely.
Another incident that blocked a runway triggered an accident - no
injuries, fortunately, but the landing glider was damaged.

So, my experience is it's generally better to have the pilot get the
gear down, though I would hesitate to say anything on the radio if the
glider was already close to the ground. Certainly letting a pilot land
gear up on a wide grass runway, which would not be blocked and causes no
damage to glider, is the safest procedure. Narrow paved runways may tilt
the safety judgment in the other direction.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

I've looked at the aftermath of a few two seater gear-up landings. The
posterior of the rear seat occupant got perilously close to the highly
abrasive runway surface before it stopped grinding away the bottom of the
fuselage. Not all gear-up's may be benign.

Bill Daniels