Canopy open incident.

On 6/15/2013 11:26 PM, son_of_flubber wrote:
"If something goes wrong, or if you think something MIGHT be going wrong before you reach 100 feet AGL, pull the release and drop the nose. You have plenty of space to land straight ahead at this airport. There is no charge for a premature termination of tow."

At my club (Central Massachusetts USA - 3000 ft rwy), if I pull the
release near 100 ft on a hot no wind day, the "landing" will not be on
the airport.

Tony "6N"

On Saturday, June 15, 2013 11:34:57 PM UTC-4, Tony V wrote:
On 6/15/2013 11:26 PM, son_of_flubber wrote:

"If something goes wrong, or if you think something MIGHT be going wrong before you reach 100 feet AGL, pull the release and drop the nose. You have plenty of space to land straight ahead at this airport. There is no charge for a premature termination of tow."



At my club (Central Massachusetts USA - 3000 ft rwy), if I pull the

release near 100 ft on a hot no wind day, the "landing" will not be on

the airport.



Tony "6N"

Good point. I now fly at an airport where 100 feet is likewise too high to land straight ahead. (That is why I raised the topic of landing out on an uphill grade earlier in the week.)

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

On Saturday, June 15, 2013 8:20:20 PM UTC-4, Tom K (ES) wrote:
I am not ashamed to admit it was me.



After I landed and saw the footage I felt that it could be a great learning video on decisionmaking. Could I have done things differently, yes. This is not the goal of humiliating myself online. It is to demonstrate that we have options and to evaluate the options to the best of one's abilities. By going through my thought process it provides examples of the different options I thought about and explained what I did.



BTW, 2 engine failures in helicopters, a tail rotor drive shaft failure in the mountains in Alaska, and a couple of single engine failures in twin engine helicopters make a person always look for where am I going to go "if happens"...



Tom

It can certainly happen to anyone. Aside from not latching the canopy, Hans would have been proud of your recovery. Good video.

Mark

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

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

On Saturday, June 15, 2013 5:20:20 PM UTC-7, Tom K (ES) wrote:
I am not ashamed to admit it was me.

Happened to me in a 2-33 on 05-19-91 at Estrella. Canopy popped open when
we hit an Arizona boomer just as I was announcing (Thanks, Tom K.) 200 feet.
For a rare time in my life, being left-handed was a benefit. Grabbed canopy with left hand, stick pressure with right hand to get back behind tow plane, locked canopy with left, then released as was high enough for safe downwind landing in gentle winds.
Apologized to tow pilot about getting high - he said the rope was so slack he did't notice until he looked and "you weren't there."
Next morning walked out and found my hat and sunglasses.
Successful "Private Pilot Glider Practical Test Passed & Certificate Issued" that afternoon by Jim Burch - a super examiner and good guy. He had tow pilot roll into thermals and then reverse directions.
The "E" for "emergencies" or "eventualities" on my written checklist, read & done before attaching tow rope, has had a visceral (in your guts) meaning ever since.

On Saturday, June 15, 2013 6:31:57 PM UTC-4, Evan Ludeman wrote:
I think the high percentage decision here is leave the canopy open, release as soon as it is clearly safe to do so.



In primary training in a 2-33, my instructor had me fly straight and level at 45 - 50 mph and open the canopy. And in a 2-33 you can really open, and close the canopy at 50 mph with no issues. The point of the lesson was "the glider flies just fine with the canopy open", so: no need to panic if it flies open on its own accord, no need to try to do three things with two hands. The point was made by the instructor that if the canopy did blow open on tow, it wasn't going to be nearly so easy to deal with as flying slowly in free flight.



And there's the possibility that things can go *very* badly if you do insist on getting fancy trying to do all this stuff on departure.



This is one of the very saddest stories I know in soaring:



http://tinyurl.com/l8xatk8



I can't even imagine what it would be like to live with that on my conscience.



So... I've already figured this one out. If I somehow fail and the canopy opens on tow, I leave it, release as soon as it is clearly safe to do so.



Evan Ludeman / T8

link seems not to be working. Original follows.

http://dms.ntsb.gov/aviation/Acciden...2013120000.pdf

If you are under control, and the wind in your face is not an issue. Stay on tow. Get to an altitude where you know you can get back.

A 100 ft release on our 3500 ft runway will have your landing rollout beyond the airport fence, especially on hot days.
I'll pull the release on my students below 50 ft to emphasize, you've got to get it down and stopped!

Had a commercial ride for hire lose a forward Grob canopy on takeoff. Pulled the release at 200ft, standard training for a 180 return to the airport.
He did not make it back, the extra drag of the missing canopy was worse than full spoilers. He had to ground loop it when he saw a barbed wire fence that would have decapitated his front seat pax. They both walked away.

Another 2-32 commercial ride lost the canopy. Front seat pilot had glasses with sport safety strap, he did not lose his glasses. Stayed on tow to 500 ft and an uneventful return to the airport.

The first reaction to "release release release" must be tempered with, "I'm still flying, I'm still under control", "what are my options".
Or as we said in my military flying, "you're still flying, the EP is under control, take time to wind the watch and think about recovery".

BillT

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