Winch Launch Fatality

The point here is not the "to turn or not to turn" debate. Assuming
you have the height to be thinking about turning, you probably have
enough. Otherwise, landing ahead should be possible. The point is the
speed at which the turn is initiated. Even low to the ground
manoeuvring is quite safe *with enough speed*. It sounds like this was
a typical spin-in scenario that we teach as standard here in the UK.
It goes something like:
- Coming back to the airfield low
- Need to turn but scared about the low height
- Use small amount of bank
- Let the speed come off in order to stretch the glide
- Glider stalls, spins, and if this were the real thing (and not done
at height as a demo), then it's unrecoverable

On Jun 22, 3:58*pm, bildan wrote:
On Jun 22, 4:05*am, Dave Doe wrote:





In article ,
says...

At 04:03 19 June 2009, Dave Doe wrote:
In article ,
says...
Who knows details about this?

http://www.mlive.com/news/annarborne...news-32/124507...

There is some more info here...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2515...wi-pilot-named

United States police today released the name of a New Zealand pilot
killed last Sunday when the glider in which he was a passenger crashed.

Timothy John Moxham, 29, was a pilot for an air ambulance, Midwest
Medflight.

Police said a delay in releasing details of his identity was because of
the difficulty in reaching his parents in New Zealand.

Mr Moxham died in a glider owned by the Sandhill Soaring Club and flown
by the club president when it crashed near Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Preliminary investigation indicated a winch cable used to help the
aircraft take flight may have failed on takeoff, police chief William
Cook of the nearby Unadilla Township told the Daily Press and Argus
newspaper. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

The glider pilot, Orrin Burns Beckham, 63, of Ann Arbor, is in a serious

condition in a local hospital.

A colleague of the New Zealander, Medflight paramedic Andrew King said
Mr Moxham took his job to heart.

"Not only did Tim love flying and love being a pilot, but he loved being

a part of the (team) and getting people to the appropriate hospitals.."

Mr King said Mr Moxham's desire to go gliding was recent. He said prior

to the trip, Moxham told him: "This is true flying. It's just you and
(nature)."

The New Zealander had been flying for more than 15 years, starting at
the age of 13 when his father taught him, and had logged more than 3000
hours of flight time, including flying offshore, corporate work and
flight instruction.

He also held certification to an FAA standards on airframe construction
and engine mechanics.

"People say we've lost a pilot, but he was so much more than that,"
said
another colleague, Medflight nurse Doug Berry. "He had such compassion
for the job and the people we transported. He cared about people.

"He touched the lives of hundreds of people," Mr Berry added, choking
back tears. "He was amazing."

- NZPA

--
Duncan

NTSB prelim is at * *
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?e...15X13631&key=1

Thanks Ron.

I see...
"
Witnesses reported that the glider was launched with a winch and during
the procedure the winch cable broke. The pilot executed a 180-degree
turn apparently in an attempt to return to the airport. However, near
the completion of the turn, the nose of the glider dropped and it
impacted the terrain.
"

How many times!!! - *don't* try to return to the field! *OK, I don't
know the altitude (AGL) nor what was ahead of the field, but hey, we all
know, this is generally regarded as a no-no.

--
Duncan

I suggest you take a look at the Private Pilot Glider Practical Test
Guide. *180 (really 270) turns to a downwind landing are SOP for
gliders after a aerotow rope break.

180 turns to a downwind landing are NOT SOP for a winch launch failure
since at 200 feet the glider is still very near the approach end of
the runway - a 180 turn will leave you with nowhere to land. *Downwind
landings are not necessary or even advisable with winch launch
failures.

AOA INDICATORS
Quotes from earlier in this thread...
"However, I think significantly fewer accidents would
have happened if angle of attack indicators were universally
installed."

"As for an AOA indicator, you're damn right I'd be looking at it -
and flying a much safer recovery as a result."

What additional benefit would an AOA indicator give over deciding on an
appropriate approach speed before the launch starts and maintaining it,
once attained, after a launch failure by monitoring the airspeed indicator
frequently?
An AOA indicator might just be a distraction!

180 DEGREE TURNS.
As pointed by others a 180 turn does not line one up with the runway so
unless its a very large airfield additional manoeuvring is required which
makes it more complex than at first sight. It is also more likely to put
a glider into conflict with landing traffic. It is also quite difficult
to avoid landing long if there is a tail-wind component which may tend to
make pilots fly more slowly downwind!!
The case for a 180 turn after a winch launch failure is very weak.

HAND ON RELEASE
"First, we're really only talking about an aero tow ground roll. Once
airborne in turbulent air, keeping a death grip on the release isn't a
good idea."

The hand should be touching the release (not holding it) during the early
part of the launch so that one can easily grip it properly and pull it
without having to look for it. Holding it firmly is likely to create
additional risks due to premature releases.

So when is it safe to stop touching it?
On aerotow probably above 800' - 1000' when the risk of killing the tug
pilot if you inadvertently get too high is reducing. "airborne in
turbulent air" is one of those situations when you may get out of
position - so keep your hand just touching it.

On a winch launch you will need to use the release in little over a minute
after the launch commences - why not continue to touch it all the way?

Flapped gliders where the setting needs to be changed from negative during
the ground run are an interesting case. Starting (aerotow) launches in
negative reduces the probability of a wing drop, but one's hand is in the
wrong place to react if it does. What is the best option for those guys?

On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:15:04 +0000, Big Wings wrote:

Flapped gliders where the setting needs to be changed from negative
during the ground run are an interesting case. Starting (aerotow)
launches in negative reduces the probability of a wing drop, but one's
hand is in the wrong place to react if it does. What is the best option
for those guys?

Good question.

When I had an ASW-20 I kept my hand on the release until the ailerons
bit, moved the flap lever to position 3 and put my hand back on the
release with minimum delay. I always assumed this was close to the
optimum, but was that a correct assumption?


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

When I had a flapped Nimbus 2, I always set the flaps to zero for the
ground run and selected the first stage of positive once I was established
in the full climb. That way I could keep my hand on the release knob during
the ground run. The rapid acceleration of a winch launch gives you almost
instant control.

For aerotows I started in full negative and notched the flaps back as I
gained speed and control.

Derek Copeland

At 14:23 26 June 2009, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:15:04 +0000, Big Wings wrote:

Flapped gliders where the setting needs to be changed from negative
during the ground run are an interesting case. Starting (aerotow)
launches in negative reduces the probability of a wing drop, but
one's
hand is in the wrong place to react if it does. What is the best
option
for those guys?

Good question.

When I had an ASW-20 I kept my hand on the release until the ailerons
bit, moved the flap lever to position 3 and put my hand back on the
release with minimum delay. I always assumed this was close to the
optimum, but was that a correct assumption?


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

You should not necessarily point the glider at the winch, you should point
it in the direction that the cable is going to take. If there is a bow in
the cable then the glider should not point at the winch but towards the
bow so that yaw is not induced.
Of course the ideal and proper situation is that the cable runs straight
from the winch to the takeoff point when the cable direction and the winch
are both in the same direction.

The correct thing to do if a wing drops is to release the cable, semantics
maybe but can we please get the terminology right at least.

Just to illustrate the point many years a go a gliding site in the UK
winch launched on a dog leg, the winch cable changed direction halfway
down the run by being taken round a telegraph pole and the launch was
always towards the pole. The change in direction when the cable reached
the top of the pole and slipped off was interesting, the good news was
that CofG hooks were not common so the pull of the cable helped to damp
the yaw induced. I would not want to do it in a modern glider with a CofG
hook, damm dangerous I would think.



At 07:30 26 June 2009, Derek Copeland wrote:
For Christs sake Bill! Lasham is the largest and most professional
gliding
club in the UK and we do about 10,000 winch launches per year, 9,999 of
which go without incident. We do know what we are doing. We either point
the glide directly at the main winch, or just slightly upwind of it in a
crosswind to reduce any initial yaw due to weather cocking.

The K13 incident was caused by a gust, and the glider was landed without
damage or injury. A similar wing drop during an aerotow would be
considered quite unremarkable. The correct thing to do is to pull off if
a
wing drops during a winch launch.

Derek Copeland

At 03:42 26 June 2009, bildan wrote:
On Jun 24, 7:00=A0pm, Don Johnstone wrote:
What is particularly interesting in both the video and the
photographs
is
the direction the glider is pointing relative to the cable. In the
video
the glider can be seen to yaw as the cable tightens and then further
yaw
as the it starts to move.
In the photographs it is clear that the glider is pointing to the
right
o=
f
the direction of the cable AND stangely is pointed in the same
direction
=
as
the K13 parked behind it, a co-incidence perhaps. In both cases it
would
appear possible that the glider was not lined up with the cable prior
to
launch so that as soon as the cable moved yaw was induced. With a
CofG
hook the glider will be more unstable about the yaw axis than was the
cas=
e
with the more forward release on older gliders. Perhaps that might
explai=
n
why this appears to be a "new" phenomenon.

Nope, they lined it up at an angle to the wire then all the other
stuff compounded the problem. There are other videos from Lasham with
the gliders improperly staged which show a similar wobbly takeoff. If
the gilder isn't pointing at the winch, the takeoff will be
'interesting'. Unfortunately, some people in the US are showing the
k-13 photo sequence as proof that winches are too dangerous to use.
This actually forced me to add a paragraph in my winch training
syllabus cautioning pilots to aim gliders at the winch - which any kid
launching a balsa glider with a rubber band would understand without
being told.

To be fair, there very well could have been a wind event that we, in a
dustier climate, would call a "dust devil" which couldn't be seen in
lush green England. We would see it coming and stand down until the
thing passed - then launch and go chase it for the lift it marks.

On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:30:05 +0000, Del C wrote:

When I had a flapped Nimbus 2, I always set the flaps to zero for the
ground run and selected the first stage of positive once I was
established in the full climb. That way I could keep my hand on the
release knob during the ground run. The rapid acceleration of a winch
launch gives you almost instant control.

For aerotows I started in full negative and notched the flaps back as I
gained speed and control.

I should have made it clear that was for aero tow: starting the roll in
position 2 (-6 degrees) and going to position 3 (zero) once the ailerons
are fully effective is SOP for an ASW-20 on aero tow.

I flew winch launches entirely in position 3 - zero flap.

Martin


At 14:23 26 June 2009, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:15:04 +0000, Big Wings wrote:

Flapped gliders where the setting needs to be changed from negative
during the ground run are an interesting case. Starting (aerotow)
launches in negative reduces the probability of a wing drop, but
one's
hand is in the wrong place to react if it does. What is the best
option
for those guys?

Good question.

When I had an ASW-20 I kept my hand on the release until the ailerons
bit, moved the flap lever to position 3 and put my hand back on the
release with minimum delay. I always assumed this was close to the
optimum, but was that a correct assumption?


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

The SOP for most flapped gliders is to start in full negative, it makes the
ailerons more effective and enables you to plant the tail wheel firmly on
the ground which helps in preventing yaw. It is necessary to ensure that a
non negative setting is selected before the tug leaves the ground because
if it is not the glider is going by road. This tends to be very bumpy and
frightens tug pilots.

For winch launching it presents more of a problem, the ASW17 for example
has a release hook which is more forward than most modern gliders and in
order to get any height it is necessary to move from zero flap, where it
was set for takeoff to a plus setting fairly quickly, in fact as soon as
the glider was off the ground.
I got round the problem of being able to operate the flap and release
quickly by looping para cord around the release knob and round my wrist
making it long enough to ensure that I could not pull the release
inadvertently, and short enough to ensure that I could release before my
elbow hit the rear of the cockpit. I could therefore hold the flap lever
but instantly release if required. The para cord could be stowed at the
top of the launch.

At 17:24 26 June 2009, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:30:05 +0000, Del C wrote:

When I had a flapped Nimbus 2, I always set the flaps to zero for the
ground run and selected the first stage of positive once I was
established in the full climb. That way I could keep my hand on the
release knob during the ground run. The rapid acceleration of a winch
launch gives you almost instant control.

For aerotows I started in full negative and notched the flaps back as
I
gained speed and control.

I should have made it clear that was for aero tow: starting the roll in
position 2 (-6 degrees) and going to position 3 (zero) once the ailerons

are fully effective is SOP for an ASW-20 on aero tow.

I flew winch launches entirely in position 3 - zero flap.

Martin


At 14:23 26 June 2009, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:15:04 +0000, Big Wings wrote:

Flapped gliders where the setting needs to be changed from negative
during the ground run are an interesting case. Starting (aerotow)
launches in negative reduces the probability of a wing drop, but
one's
hand is in the wrong place to react if it does. What is the best
option
for those guys?

Good question.

When I had an ASW-20 I kept my hand on the release until the ailerons
bit, moved the flap lever to position 3 and put my hand back on the
release with minimum delay. I always assumed this was close to the
optimum, but was that a correct assumption?


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

On Jun 26, 10:30*am, Don Johnstone wrote:
You should not necessarily point the glider at the winch, you should point
it in the direction that the cable is going to take. If there is a bow in
the cable then the glider should not point at the winch but towards the
bow so that yaw is not induced.

A typical answer for a steel cable user. Steel digs in to the ground
as it is puled out. You don't know if a steel cable will maintain its
initial direction or 'twang' back to center jerking the glider around.

UHMWPE/Dyneema rope will take a dead straight line from the glider to
the winch as it is tensioned. The stuff is so light that it easily
skips sideways over weeds and grass. If it fails to straighten out,
it's likely caught on something solid and you'd best investigate.

Yet another reason to dump steel cable.

On 26 June, 17:30, Don Johnstone wrote:
You should not necessarily point the glider at the winch, you should point
it in the direction that the cable is going to take. If there is a bow in
the cable then the glider should not point at the winch but towards the
bow so that yaw is not induced.
Of course the ideal and proper situation is that the cable runs straight
from the winch to the takeoff point when the cable direction and the winch
are both in the same direction.

The correct thing to do if a wing drops is to release the cable, semantics
maybe but can we please get the terminology right at least.

Just to illustrate the point many years a go a gliding site in the UK
winch launched on a dog leg, the winch cable changed direction halfway
down the run by being taken round a telegraph pole and the launch was
always towards the pole. The change in direction when the cable reached
the top of the pole and slipped off was interesting, the good news was
that CofG hooks were not common so the pull of the cable helped to damp
the yaw induced. I would not want to do it in a modern glider with a CofG
hook, damm dangerous I would think.

Don,

You are clearly referring to the Scottish Gliding Union at Portmoak
airfield where I have been member since 1977. We continued launching
on the dogleg ash strip for many years after that including many
gliders with C of G hooks with no problem at all (including, in my
case over those years, K6E, Diamant, Std Cirrus, Kestrel 19, Nimbus
2C). The point that is is relevant to the "where to point the glider"
issues is this: Waiting for a launch we lined up one behind the other
straight down the strip with the cable coming straight into the
glider. We were therefore pointing well to one side of the winch but
the gliders took off perfectly straight down the strip. I was never
particularly aware of any direction change during the launch.

Now that we launch straight towards the winch on the main grass parts
of the airfield we have more, not less, issues with gliders being
swung by the cable and that is because the gliders queue side by side
with a gap between them for the cable retrieve vehicle to pass
through. For each glider the cable has to be pulled over to the
glider leaving a bow in the last 50m or so of the cable. A steel
cable being pulled through grass by a our lowish power winch does
*not* pull straight as the slack is taken up and can easily swing the
glider right at the start of the ground run. When I launch I always
insist the last 50m of cable is pulled as straight as possible and not
just that the drogue chute is pulled to the front of the glider. If
that were not possible I would agree that the glider should more or
less line up with the closest 50m of cable when launching off grass.
When launching from a hard runway (or our old ash strip) this is much
less of an issue because the cable can slip sideways over the ground
so much more easily.

John Galloway

When we did a trial with Plasma (similar to Dyneema) cable on one drum and
steel cable on the other drum of a two drum winch, I can't say that I
noticed any difference between the two in terms of straightening out. The
Plasma cable did give higher launches, by a hundred feet or so, but the
cost is unfortunately rather prohibitive.

It is a good idea to keep the airfield grass as short as possible so that
cables will slide over it and straighten out as they are tensioned. This
also reduces the chances of groundloops or cartwheels if a wing drops.

At my club we pull the cables just past the launch point so there is
enough slack to reach the second glider, normally on the upwind side by
just over half a wingspan. There is therefore a small amount of offset,
but this generally does not cause a problem. The upwind side is preferred
as you launch the downwind cable first, which tends to drift away from the
second cable, reducing the risk of picking it up. Also reduces the chance
of the cables crossing at the winch end during the wind in.

Derek Copeland



At 19:35 26 June 2009, bildan wrote:
On Jun 26, 10:30=A0am, Don Johnstone wrote:
You should not necessarily point the glider at the winch, you should
poin=
t
it in the direction that the cable is going to take. If there is a bow
in
the cable then the glider should not point at the winch but towards
the
bow so that yaw is not induced.

A typical answer for a steel cable user. Steel digs in to the ground
as it is puled out. You don't know if a steel cable will maintain its
initial direction or 'twang' back to center jerking the glider around.

UHMWPE/Dyneema rope will take a dead straight line from the glider to
the winch as it is tensioned. The stuff is so light that it easily
skips sideways over weeds and grass. If it fails to straighten out,
it's likely caught on something solid and you'd best investigate.

Yet another reason to dump steel cable.