Nearest near-miss?

July 5th, 2016 I was flying on a heading at 70 knots and losing altitude. Another glider pilot warned me on CTAF that I have a Cessna on my six. A few seconds later, the Cessna flew directly over my canopy. Seemed like 100 feet away. If I get another warning about traffic on my six in the future, I plan to immediately turn 90 and dive. Thoughts?

October, 2017 I was orbiting over Sugarbush Ski Resort at 6000, slowly climbing in wave, Mode-S transponder, in contact with BTV approach and monitoring frequency. Approach warns a Cirrus that there is a glider 12 o'clock, same altitude. I get a traffic warning on Powerflarm. I spot the Cirrus. Immediate steep 90 turn and dive. I get a good look at the belly of the Cirrus. Cirrus says to Approach. "Okay, I saw the glider".

I figure that more and more power planes will be looking at their ADS-B-in screens and that 'see and avoid' is becoming less reliable. So last year I decided to add TABS on top of my Trig TT21. I have experimental airworthiness, so it's several hundred bucks for the upgrade.

June 2018, one month after deploying TABS, I'm in contact with BTV approach at 6000 and crossing the extended centerline of RW 35. About 25 miles from BTV. Its a little hazy. Approach tells a Piper 'Traffic 2 miles, 1 o'clock, same altitude', pause,'Traffic 1 mile, 1 o'clock, same altitude' The Piper says 'I still don't see the glider... but I've got him on ADS-B'. At this point, I realized why TABS/ADS-B-out is so much better than a vanilla Mode-S transponder. Radar contact let Approach warn the Piper, but TABS let the Piper 'see me'.

Recovering from my vortex / downburst encounter on final over a gravel pit I had to climb to clear a topsoil pile. My subsequent urgent cogitations about where to put the glider were rudely disrupted by seeing the braid of the power cable that I cleared by 5' or so.

Only my equanimity was damaged.

Ka6 Years ago in a booming thermal 1,100' per minute over the Poconos approaching cloud base. When I looked up and estimated 2 more turns and I would be in the cloud . I exited the thermal and heard the 747 before I saw it apox 9,500 msl . I saw it for a brief eternity where I would have been !!!
A good reason to abide by the FARs.

At 16:47 10 May 2019, wrote:

Don't you really mean 'Nearest near-hit?' ?

I'm wondering how many of these have ever been reported (to the authorities, not on r.a.s.). In the pre-transponder days I'd wager not many. The power pilot likely never saw the glider and the glider pilot likely didn't want the FAA up in his/her business.

If you don't have one, get a transponder - at least.

All my near misses are with gliders - many with Flarm screaming like a banshee. Thank goodness for that. Thermal entry - particularly out west where the pull-ups can be huge - is the main scenario for me.

Andy Blackburn
9B

On Friday, May 10, 2019 at 11:47:45 AM UTC-5, wrote:
The Transponder chatter on other threads got me to thinking about who’s got the closest near-miss? Thought I’d kick it off with my incident over 40 years ago. I was flying my homebuilt wooden sailplane over Mono Lake, Ca. Cursing south at 16000’ and 60 knots when I spotted a 4 engine jet below and to my left. Our flight paths were going to intersect, but he was a good 500 feet below me. Two seconds later it became crystal clear that it wasn’t a 4 engine jet, it was a 4 pod jet with 8 engines and the B-52 was climbing fast! Too late for me to maneuver,I’m doing 60 and he’s doing maybe 360, and I didn’t want to throw my belly to him. I just sat there thinking I had a front row seat to my demise! As he passed just under my nose, I could clearly see the copilot reading his checklist! I’m sure they never saw me, but I sure as hell saw them! I figured the wake turbulence was going to tear my little Duster to bits, so I tightened up my parachute straps. Nothing! Guess the turbulence all went below and behind him. How far can you see a man reading a book? I’ll lay claim at 50 Feet!
Let’s hear your story,
JJ

I number of years ago, I was flying a K-8 southbound from Stanton MN to Dodge Center at about 8,000 ft. During the flight there were a couple of C-130s heading south about 3,000 ft below us. The gliders in the area where discussing this on the radio, and the other aircraft were not a factor.

An hour or so later, I was headed northbound back to Stanton, and I could hear the C-130s coming up right behind me. I didn't know what to do. I contemplated doing a sharp 90 degree turn to make myself more visible, but I was concerned that if I did an abrupt maneuver like that, I might actually create a collision. I finally decided just to keep flying straight to minimize my cross section and limit the potential for a collision.

Sure enough, 30 seconds later, I saw the C-130s less than 1,000' banking off my right wing tip at my exact altitude. They apparently saw me and were flying around me.

I now fly a Phoenix Motorglider with ADS-B IN and OUT. It is absolutely amazing how much traffic is out there that you absolutely can not see, even when you know EXACTLY where to look and the other aircraft is less than a mile away. See and avoid does not work reliably in the real world. We need every aircraft to be ADS-B equipped. That's ultimately the solution to get rid of mid-airs.

On Saturday, May 11, 2019 at 8:33:56 AM UTC-4, Mike Schumann wrote:
We need every aircraft to be ADS-B equipped.

We need an FAA that works for us, instead of against us.

T8

On Saturday, May 11, 2019 at 8:33:56 AM UTC-4, Mike Schumann wrote:
See and avoid does not work reliably in the real world.

Absolutely. That's why all gliders need FLARM.

Back in the 90s I was leading my partner's brother on a cross country
flight out of Black Forest in Colorado.Â* As we neared Pike's Peak we
heard a roar and saw an A-7 pass close by on our right.Â* I told him to
hang on as they always travel in pairs.Â* Sure enough, a couple of
seconds later, his wing man passed on our left...Â* They were in route
formation but I like to think they saw us and split up to pass us on
either side.

On 5/11/2019 6:33 AM, Mike Schumann wrote:
On Friday, May 10, 2019 at 11:47:45 AM UTC-5, wrote:
The Transponder chatter on other threads got me to thinking about who’s got the closest near-miss? Thought I’d kick it off with my incident over 40 years ago. I was flying my homebuilt wooden sailplane over Mono Lake, Ca. Cursing south at 16000’ and 60 knots when I spotted a 4 engine jet below and to my left. Our flight paths were going to intersect, but he was a good 500 feet below me. Two seconds later it became crystal clear that it wasn’t a 4 engine jet, it was a 4 pod jet with 8 engines and the B-52 was climbing fast! Too late for me to maneuver,I’m doing 60 and he’s doing maybe 360, and I didn’t want to throw my belly to him. I just sat there thinking I had a front row seat to my demise! As he passed just under my nose, I could clearly see the copilot reading his checklist! I’m sure they never saw me, but I sure as hell saw them! I figured the wake turbulence was going to tear my little Duster to bits, so I tightened up my parachute straps. Nothing! Guess the turbulence all went below and behind him. How far can you see a man reading a book? I’ll lay claim at 50 Feet!
Let’s hear your story,
JJ
I number of years ago, I was flying a K-8 southbound from Stanton MN to Dodge Center at about 8,000 ft. During the flight there were a couple of C-130s heading south about 3,000 ft below us. The gliders in the area where discussing this on the radio, and the other aircraft were not a factor.

An hour or so later, I was headed northbound back to Stanton, and I could hear the C-130s coming up right behind me. I didn't know what to do. I contemplated doing a sharp 90 degree turn to make myself more visible, but I was concerned that if I did an abrupt maneuver like that, I might actually create a collision. I finally decided just to keep flying straight to minimize my cross section and limit the potential for a collision.

Sure enough, 30 seconds later, I saw the C-130s less than 1,000' banking off my right wing tip at my exact altitude. They apparently saw me and were flying around me.

I now fly a Phoenix Motorglider with ADS-B IN and OUT. It is absolutely amazing how much traffic is out there that you absolutely can not see, even when you know EXACTLY where to look and the other aircraft is less than a mile away. See and avoid does not work reliably in the real world. We need every aircraft to be ADS-B equipped. That's ultimately the solution to get rid of mid-airs.

--
Dan, 5J

"Hi, I'm from the government, I'm here to help!".

I have seen the stereotypical government type, and I have found some VERY reasonable types.