Canopy open incident.

On Saturday, June 15, 2013 6:03:38 AM UTC-7, Walt Connelly wrote:
I found this on YouTube and I would be more interested in what the crowd

on Aviation Banter/Soaring had to say. I am impressed that this

individual would post his video, has to be a bit embarrassing. Lots of

second guessing and backseat flying in the comments but I think he did

the right thing. What say you, far more experienced glider pilots?



Walt



https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...v=r0I75OZmA-0#!









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Walt Connelly

I won't 2nd guess his decision to stay on tow to evaluate the situation. I give him credit for continuing to fly the glider with no perceptible deviations. Contrast this to an accident at Ephrata, WA where a water bottle came loose in the cockpit shortly after becoming airborne. The glider pilot became preoccupied with grabbing the bottle and reflexively pulled back on the stick. The glider kited, pulling up the tail on the tow plane. The tow plane pilot was subsequently killed when the tow plane hit the ground (the forces on the tow hook exceeded the pilot's ability to pull the release).

PLEASE, the 1st priority is ALWAYS to fly the plane, especially at low altitude.

Tom

Originally Posted by 2G

On Saturday, June 15, 2013 6:03:38 AM UTC-7, Walt Connelly wrote:
I found this on YouTube and I would be more interested in what the crowd

on Aviation Banter/Soaring had to say. I am impressed that this

individual would post his video, has to be a bit embarrassing. Lots of

second guessing and backseat flying in the comments but I think he did

the right thing. What say you, far more experienced glider pilots?



Walt



https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...v=r0I75OZmA-0#!









--

Walt Connelly

I won't 2nd guess his decision to stay on tow to evaluate the situation. I give him credit for continuing to fly the glider with no perceptible deviations. Contrast this to an accident at Ephrata, WA where a water bottle came loose in the cockpit shortly after becoming airborne. The glider pilot became preoccupied with grabbing the bottle and reflexively pulled back on the stick. The glider kited, pulling up the tail on the tow plane. The tow plane pilot was subsequently killed when the tow plane hit the ground (the forces on the tow hook exceeded the pilot's ability to pull the release).

PLEASE, the 1st priority is ALWAYS to fly the plane, especially at low altitude.

Tom

One might think that an engineer could design a system which would overcome the force on the tow hook which exceed the pilot's ability to pull the release. I've heard of a condition like this happening when the glider pilot "thought" he had released and in fact had not. Never sure how things like that happen.

Walt

There is a new Schweizer style design that has roller bearings on the slide hook, used towing ultralights, not approved for airplane, no STC that I am aware of.

A Tost release on the tow plane should release a lot easier than the Schweizer style.

One could question the weak link. But a weak link may not fail with a gradual onset of load, but will snap if jerked as in a poor slack line recovery.

BillT

Reading many of these responses one might conclude that loss of one's glasses might be a high probability in a canopy opening on tow. Perhaps our check lists might need to include "safety strap on glasses." I wear a pair of FIT OVERS over my glasses when flying, they are secured with a strap which I would hope would preclude the loss of both in such an event. It would only add to the situation if a pilot was to suddenly find him or herself in such a situation and additionally be impaired by the lack of adequate vision. Also, the need to emergency egress and the opening shock of a chute might cause one's specs to depart one's face. It might be time for me to break down and have that Lasik number done.

Walt

On Sun, 16 Jun 2013 14:15:43 +0100, Walt Connelly
wrote:

[snip]

One might think that an engineer could design a system which would
overcome the force on the tow hook which exceed the pilot's ability to
pull the release. I've heard of a condition like this happening when
the glider pilot "thought" he had released and in fact had not. Never
sure how things like that happen.

There was a tow-pilot fatality at my former gliderport years ago, in
which the towpilot apparently couldn't reach the release handle while
he was holding full back stick to avoid being nosed into the ground.

I think the original poster made the best decision. Those saying he should have pulled off immediately and landed ahead can only speak with any authority if they've achieved that in a similar situation.

My canopy opening incident was while winch launching a Grob Astir. It appears from the witness marks that my sweatshirt was caught in the canopy lock, behind my shoulder and thus not visible, so the part of the mechanism I could see was engaged and a push up on the canopy didn't move it. A bump on the ground run pulled my sweatshirt loose and the canopy began to open as I rotated into the climb. RH hinged, so I automatically pushed it closed with my left. By then I'm 50ft into the climb and the thinking begins, starting with "fly the aircraft". By the time I've worked out the next course of action (hang on to canopy, because if it opens and breaks away my elevator might go with it, in which case it's goodnight) I'm at 200 ft and climbing. This is not too much height to land ahead on a 3,000 ft runway *if* (and only if) I can use the airbrakes - with my left hand, which is holding the canopy closed. So I rode the launch to the top.

Then some interesting attitudes while I failed to lock the canopy, followed by some experimenting with the airbrake. As I could use my elbow to modulate it between full and half open I set up for a full airbrake approach to the start of the runway, and used the modulation to land me a safe margin beyond that point. A non-event in the end, like the original poster.

As the commentary in the video says, by the time the pilot had everything under control there was still a land-ahead (actually 30 degree turn to a taxiway) option. But that option had to be flown with the aircraft in an unknown configuration - could he operate all the necessary controls? would 200ft of height be enough time to learn? The problem was a known one, and there was no further danger of the canopy disappearing, so I'm certain the right thing to do was to gain height. I'd have ridden the tow to 2,000 ft, to give me the option of using the parachute if I couldn't make the glider controllable for landing.

And let me stress the elevator again. If the canopy detaches at 50ft and knocks off the tailplane, that's probably not survivable. Hold the damned thing on, and work out a better plan!

I can't see anything in the argument below that suggests either course of action would be preferable. Land ahead or fly away, the glider is in an unknown condition. Land or fly, you have to operate the controls. A canopy that has slammed open is bent or broken and won't close no matter how long the flight is extended.

If the flight does continue, the situation may snowball into something deadly. Accidents are a chain of events and several are in play as soon as the canopy opens. Extending this situation increases the chances something unexpected will add to the pilot's problem taking it beyond what the pilot can deal with. The canopy wasn't latched, perhaps the spoilers aren't locked either. Maybe the seat slips back from the pilots contortions. In this situation it would only take a minor event.

Releasing and landing ahead, as long as you have the room, is an excellent option not to be discarded lightly. It's fundamental to flight crew training that if somethings goes wrong with the aircraft while there's still room to stop, then damn it STOP! The question is, can you do it? If not, why not? People practice 200 foot rope breaks why not practice landing ahead when there's room?

I can't find a single incidence of an accident landing ahead after a malfunction but there's no problem at all finding fatal accidents where the pilot tried to fly a disabled aircraft. Anybody remember Clem Bowman?



On Monday, June 17, 2013 2:08:48 PM UTC-6, ProfChrisReed wrote:
I think the original poster made the best decision. Those saying he should have pulled off immediately and landed ahead can only speak with any authority if they've achieved that in a similar situation.



My canopy opening incident was while winch launching a Grob Astir. It appears from the witness marks that my sweatshirt was caught in the canopy lock, behind my shoulder and thus not visible, so the part of the mechanism I could see was engaged and a push up on the canopy didn't move it. A bump on the ground run pulled my sweatshirt loose and the canopy began to open as I rotated into the climb. RH hinged, so I automatically pushed it closed with my left. By then I'm 50ft into the climb and the thinking begins, starting with "fly the aircraft". By the time I've worked out the next course of action (hang on to canopy, because if it opens and breaks away my elevator might go with it, in which case it's goodnight) I'm at 200 ft and climbing. This is not too much height to land ahead on a 3,000 ft runway *if* (and only if) I can use the airbrakes - with my left hand, which is holding the canopy closed. So I rode the launch to the top.



Then some interesting attitudes while I failed to lock the canopy, followed by some experimenting with the airbrake. As I could use my elbow to modulate it between full and half open I set up for a full airbrake approach to the start of the runway, and used the modulation to land me a safe margin beyond that point. A non-event in the end, like the original poster.



As the commentary in the video says, by the time the pilot had everything under control there was still a land-ahead (actually 30 degree turn to a taxiway) option. But that option had to be flown with the aircraft in an unknown configuration - could he operate all the necessary controls? would 200ft of height be enough time to learn? The problem was a known one, and there was no further danger of the canopy disappearing, so I'm certain the right thing to do was to gain height. I'd have ridden the tow to 2,000 ft, to give me the option of using the parachute if I couldn't make the glider controllable for landing.



And let me stress the elevator again. If the canopy detaches at 50ft and knocks off the tailplane, that's probably not survivable. Hold the damned thing on, and work out a better plan!

My first thought, from the comfort of the couch under the ceiling fan was,
"He should have released immediately." Upon reflection, the pilot performed
safely and successfully, so what's there to criticize? I especially liked
the part about holding the canopy closed with the elbow through the window.
Nicely done!

The link in a previous message did not work. Was this the accident in
question?
http://dms.ntsb.gov/aviation/Acciden...2013120000.pdf

I knew him and was not surprised by the accident. I also watched him crash
a Nimbus 2 when he kited while the tow plane was still on the ground during
the takeoff run.
http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/br...11X12380&key=1
This was before the accident with a passenger on board.



"2G" wrote in message
...
On Saturday, June 15, 2013 6:03:38 AM UTC-7, Walt Connelly wrote:
I found this on YouTube and I would be more interested in what the crowd

on Aviation Banter/Soaring had to say. I am impressed that this

individual would post his video, has to be a bit embarrassing. Lots of

second guessing and backseat flying in the comments but I think he did

the right thing. What say you, far more experienced glider pilots?



Walt



https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...v=r0I75OZmA-0#!









--

Walt Connelly

I won't 2nd guess his decision to stay on tow to evaluate the situation. I
give him credit for continuing to fly the glider with no perceptible
deviations. Contrast this to an accident at Ephrata, WA where a water bottle
came loose in the cockpit shortly after becoming airborne. The glider pilot
became preoccupied with grabbing the bottle and reflexively pulled back on
the stick. The glider kited, pulling up the tail on the tow plane. The tow
plane pilot was subsequently killed when the tow plane hit the ground (the
forces on the tow hook exceeded the pilot's ability to pull the release).

PLEASE, the 1st priority is ALWAYS to fly the plane, especially at low
altitude.

Tom