Newbie question on trailering Setup

"joe" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am wondering what is involved with trailering and setting up an average
(popular model) glider.

As we lawyers reply to most questions... "It depends".
It depends on the trailer fixtures and how easy, or difficult, they make it
to move your glider parts around.
It depends on whether your glider has automatic control connections. If
not, it further depends on what type of connections the glider has.

Can one reasonable expect to park the car, unload the trailer, and have
glider ready to fly in under 90minutes?

Again, it depends on the glider. I used to own a 2002 Glasflugel that I
could assemble, tape, preflight and be ready to stage in 45 minutes. It
took an hour if I didn't have a helper.

Does it usually take two people?

Yes. unless you have some type of one-man rigging aid. Some gliders,
particualrly those with heavy wing panels or difficult control connections
will require a third person to assemble.

Do gliders ever have wings separate in flight due to weak attachment
points?

I don't know of any instances of gliders breaking at the assembly point.
Maybe someone who's been in this a lot longer than I have can answer that.

At the scene of a control failure accident, I noted an unusual breakage
pattern in the canopy. The glider had crashed during a controled landing
into trees, shearing off one wing and coming to rest on the bank of a creek.
The spars remained attached, but one pin was missing. I followed the general
direction of the missing pin through the canopy and about 5 paces out into
the creek where I found it on a rocky bottom. It had apparently ejected on
impact with enough force to break off a piece of the canopy and still
continue some 5 to 10 feet from the fuselage. Fortunately, it did not hit
the pilot. I didn't think to inspect the safety (a sprung hook), to see if
it was damaged (in place on impact) or undamaged.


wrote in message
oups.com...
As I recall, there was just such an accident back in the early '70s at
Minden, NV during the U.S. Nationals. During a high-speed starting run,
both wing pins worked their way out and the wings departed the glider,
turning the fuselage into a missle...from which the pilot bailed out
successfully. I could have my facts wrong (which might explain why no
one else has mentioned this) but I believe the cause was determined
(suspected?) to be the main wing pins not being safetied. One notable
thing was that not only was the pilot obviously at risk when this
happened but also numerous crews/spectators. At least one of the major
pieces hit the airport very close to the crowded takeoff line.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"

"John Giddy" wrote in message
.. .
I started to write that I was dubious about the wing pins working
their
way
out since they would be locked in place by shear loads. Then I
thought
about it more.

For those gliders where the removable pins merely hold the wings
against
sliding out of the fuselage and the spar end spigot pins take the
actual
bending loads, there is no shear load on the removable pins.
They could
indeed work their way out.

My Nimbus uses a single 50mm diameter pin that does take shear
loads so
it's
hard to see it working out. However, I'll safety it anyway.

Bill Daniels

Bill, I hope that your grammar is confusing. I read your last
sentence
to indicate that you do not currently safety the main pin, but will
do
so in future. I hope I am wrong !!!

You are right. I've always safetied the main pin on the logic that
since
there's a bracket the designer must have thought it necessary. Not
something that calls for experimentation.

Bill Daniels