Parowan midair?

On Jun 16, 3:29*pm, Andy wrote:
I know nothing of the circumstances of this incident but I know for
sure it is possible to be hit by another glider without being at
fault. *The concept of "allowing" another, probably unseen, glider to
fly too close is nonsense.

SH!T happens. Worse nonsense is is allowing a possibly unairworthy
glider to continue on task. By mandating an immediate landing and
scoring to the point of collision, there's no question about what
needs to be done.

-Tom

I must wonder if he used his motor to get back to Parowan or thermaled
his way back with 5 feet of wing missing...

Ramy

On Jun 16, 12:02*pm, jcarlyle wrote:
No information, but the thought of a 75 mile flight with 5 feet of
wing missing is not something I'd like to face.

-John

On Jun 16, 2:48 pm, Andy wrote:



SSA contest report indicates that 2 gliders made contact on the first
day. *If the gliders are identified correctly then one continued to
win the day and the other returned to the airport missing part of one
wing and so far has no log posted.

Any more information available?

Andy.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Jun 16, 9:39*pm, Ramy wrote:
I must wonder if he used his motor to get back to Parowan or thermaled
his way back with 5 feet of wing missing...

Ramy

[snip]

A scary scenario but I'd want to be feeling *really* comfortable about
how the ship is handling before extending the prop/running the engine.
If something is wrong you may make it worse, and if it gets worse you
may seriously impair your ability to bail out. You need to retract the
engine again, which normally involves closing the throttle and turning
off the ignition and flying slow enough to be able to use the prop-
stop then retract back the mast. If the 26E got uncontrollable under
power you would need time to do something like close the throttle,
turn of the ignition and retract the mast far enough for the prop to
strike the fuselage so the running or windmilling prop does not chew
you up on exit... and you hope anything still hanging out there does
not get in the way of your egress. Enough armchair quarterbacking from
me, the pilot involved is very experienced on type so it will be
interesting to see what he did to pull this off. Fantastic that he
made it back safe.

The notion of a glider being allowed to attempt to complete a task
after a mid-air does not sit well with me. It is just the wrong
inducement for pilots involved. And given all the other SSA rules
focus on things like start safety etc, this just seems out of place. I
hope the rules committee look at this.

Darryl

Why were they circling in opposite directions? Didn't see one
another?

On Jun 17, 4:37*am, Dan wrote:
Why were they circling in opposite directions? *Didn't see one
another?

apparently not, since they collided.

jcarlyle wrote:
There's several words to describe that - "competitor" and "big brass
ones".

-John

On Jun 16, 3:08 pm, Andy wrote:
What about completing a contest task, and winning it, with unknown
damage to the fuselage?

Andy


I imagine an accident investigator would have called it reckless operation.

Brian W

Andy wrote:
... why should a pilot who was hit through no fault of
his own be eliminated from a contest if he is able to determine,
perhaps by an inspection by another pilot and a controllability check,
that the glider is still safe to fly?..

Andy

Using his X-ray vision, and on-board non-destructive testing
instrumentation, of course.

Brian W

Greg Arnold wrote:
/snip/
Ventuses must have amazingly tough noses if the glider is still flyable
(and the pilot still alive) after a head-on collision at that speed.


I don't believe that any competent authority has yet determined that
the Ventus is still (safely) flyable...

Brian W

Dan wrote:
Why were they circling in opposite directions? Didn't see one
another?


There's a rhetorical question!
Perhaps if they DID see, they were playing chicken?

Brian W

This is the rule as laid out by IGC in Annex A (international
competition rules) to the Sporting Code, Gliding section:

4.1.4 A competitor involved in a collision in the air shall not
continue the flight but land as soon as practicable. Both pilots will
be scored as having landed at the position at which the collision
occurred.

Seems a sensible rule to me...