Too many accidents

On Sunday, September 9, 2018 at 7:45:23 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Wednesday, September 5, 2018 at 3:37:44 PM UTC-4, wrote:
I have been soaring since the late 70's and can recall many accidents in the past. It seems, however, that recently the accident rate has spiked. While I don't have exact data to confirm this (I'm sure our friends at the SSF have it), it seems that we are experiencing higher than average accidents and fatalities.

I find myself wondering what is causing this. Is it the complexity of gliders emerging in recent years? Is it the age/experience of the pilots? Lack of training? I don't have the answers but I would be interested in other's thoughts on the issue. One accident is too many and loss of any life is tragic.

Greig
Two videos you should view to heighten your safety. The first is especially an eye opener regarding the inadvertant spin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeI2...&feature=share

Are there seriously people who don't train such incipient spins? We certainly did in the Blanik in New Zealand in the mid 80s. Incipient spins were always demonstrated from a normal cruising nose-below-the-horizon attitude.

I have two lights on my panel, one for each gear leg.Â* When both are
green, the gear are down.Â* When the gear is in transit, they alternately
flash red.Â* If I open the dive brakes and the wheels are not down and
locked (two green), an annoying wavering horn sounds.

I still make a gear check call and I actually check the indications
(gear switch down, two green lights, silence) as I start my base turn.Â*
It's worked for me for 45 years.Â* I think I'll keep doing it.

On 9/8/2018 9:32 PM, 2G wrote:
On Saturday, September 8, 2018 at 7:32:30 PM UTC-7, wrote:
I landed gear up last May, and I am (rightfully) embarrassed about it. I was on a long final glide into Moriarty, attempting to set the "digital inputs" from my airbrake and landing gear switches into my new LXNAV S80 properly to give me the lovely British lady's voice to "Check Gear" when the airbrakes were opened with the landing gear retracted. I couldn't get them to operate correctly, and I concluded that one of the two microswitches on the airbrake rod or landing gear mechanism was faulty or misaligned.

So I drop into the pattern, and make my radio call, "Moriarty Traffic, MSM over the Water Tower turning left downwind. Gear is down. Moriarty Traffic."

Whereupon, I operated the gear handle in the opposite direction from what is recommended in every flight manual, hangar flying session or other basic discussion of dumbass maneuvers involving aircraft. Yep, the gear was already down after I gave up on the futile attempt to make the S80 talk to me.

After the disconcerting scraping noises had stopped (short of the taxiway turnoff, as you might expect) and my supply of four letter words was depleted, helpful friends got me off the runway.

So while undergoing repairs, and talking to the LXNAV distributor, I discover that the "digital inputs" for airbrake and landing gear switches, while mentioned in the LXNAV S80 manual, are not actually SUPPORTED by the software!

Silly me! Learned a lesson, and installed a set of flashing red/blue LED lights in the panel. No mistaking those, and I believe they are superior to another beeping/honking/tweeting audio noises that modern instruments like to inflict.

But, as is my practice, I had called "Gear is down!" so the folks on the ground would recognize me as a Superior Aviator who always follows a set procedure and never would do something as stupid as landing gear up. Therefore, there was no reason for anyone on the ground (with access to a radio) to visually check my gear status and perhaps make me aware that financial difficulty was in my immediate future.

Yup, a painful experience, but fortunately, only to my ego and wallet. No animals were harmed during this event.
I have added a prominent, green, gear down LED on the panel of my new ASH 31Mi. I prefer the idea of a positive confirmation that I am OK to land vs a warning that something is wrong.

Tom

--
Dan, 5J

My DVS voice announces “the landing gear is not extended� can’t miss that.

On Sunday, September 9, 2018 at 7:45:23 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Wednesday, September 5, 2018 at 3:37:44 PM UTC-4, wrote:
I have been soaring since the late 70's and can recall many accidents in the past. It seems, however, that recently the accident rate has spiked. While I don't have exact data to confirm this (I'm sure our friends at the SSF have it), it seems that we are experiencing higher than average accidents and fatalities.

I find myself wondering what is causing this. Is it the complexity of gliders emerging in recent years? Is it the age/experience of the pilots? Lack of training? I don't have the answers but I would be interested in other's thoughts on the issue. One accident is too many and loss of any life is tragic.

Greig
Two videos you should view to heighten your safety. The first is especially an eye opener regarding the inadvertant spin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeI2...&feature=share

Bruno shares two thoughts about mountain flying:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Alk-q4golx0

Fly safely, my friends,

November Bravo

The first video demonstrates that most stall-spin accidents are due to uncoordinated flight and misuse of the rudder. A contributing factor is fear of seeing the ground at low altitudes. I would concentrate on detecting that, rather than angle of attack. Perhaps we need an audible yaw string (all that it would take is an accelerometer).

Bruno has a history of histrionics (glider breaks the rule of gravity, Glider Pilot Gets Desperately Low in Teton Mountains), so I wouldn't put much weight on the 2nd video.

Tom

I would put more weight on anything Bruno has to say, than anything you have to say.

At 07:37 10 September 2018, Charlie Quebec wrote:
I would put more weight on anything Bruno has to say, than anything you
have to say.

Just a thought
If most 1 seat gliders spin just from over ruddering a turn ,andK21's are
almost un-spinable.
Why don't they make a First single seat glider that handles like a K21,is
the performance loss so different?

Un-spinable? You might want to watch this and look up the USAF report conducted on the spin characteristics of the ASK-21.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXH6XDxQdPY

At 13:54 10 September 2018, wrote:
Un-spinable? You might want to watch this and look up the USAF report
conducted on the spin characteristics of the ASK-21.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXH6XDxQdPY

I know they will spin,but the amount of abuse it takes is way beyond "a bit
of in-attention"
The latest K21B is going to be made so it can be spun.

I have had some pupils do terrible things and as long as they don't "deep
stall" it just gets on with it.

By deep stall I mean ,pull up then push over so you are left with the
normal attitude but only 20 kt,if you put rudder or aileron in then you are
going to spin.

On Monday, September 10, 2018 at 12:37:36 AM UTC-7, Charlie Quebec wrote:
I would put more weight on anything Bruno has to say, than anything you have to say.

So, are you saying that misuse of the rudder is ok? If so, I TRULY wish you luck because you will NEED IT!

Here is another Bruno bad example video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCr-H_ZkBOo

Tom

So how does one demonstrate or practice a spin or incipient spin without "misusing" the rudder?

[Puchaz excepted]