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#1
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Close call -- glider ops
We flew to Ames, IA (home of "That Other State College in Iowa") today to
schmooze and have lunch. Conditions when we got out of the hotel at noon were breezy/gusty, 12 to 20, but pretty close to right down the runway, and the sun was shining. At the end of another sell-out crazy weekend, we NEEDED to fly. Ames is home to an active glider operation (Mary and I took some soaring instruction there a few years back), and today was no different, despite the wind. Ames' Runway 19 was less than optimal, with a gusty cross wind, but I managed to squeak 'er in without too much turmoil. We were all glad to be back on terra firma, however, after a very bumpy descent. As I was standing on the wing stretching, enjoying the spring sunshine, I observed the Super Cub tow plane starting down Rwy 19, trundling along with the trainer in tow. In the blink of an eye, the cross wind lifted the glider's port wing, causing the starboard wing to dip. The glider caught the wingtip (I was too far away, but it *looked* like in the grass), causing the glider to momentarily get sideways. The tow plane's tail, already airborne, jerked down hard -- but just as quickly as we could gasp -- the glider's wings straightened up, the tow plane started to fly right, and they were soon clawing for altitude. Another cartwheel averted... I shook my head as I jumped off the wing, amazed at how close a thing aviation can be. We're always on the brink of disaster, it seems...but most of the time things work out... -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#2
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Close call -- glider ops
Glider pilots are taught to keep their wing tips out of the grass. With only
one centerline wheel, and the lessons you took, you can understand that. Smooth gravel or pavement is more forgiving than grass and sod, that stuff likes to grab things and getting your wing pulled back from a lever 7.5 meters from the tire, a little force has a lot of leverage. Cross wind take offs are "tricky", no less than in the ATLAS you fly. A wing caught in the grass on take off will hopefully be no worse than a ground loop, not a cartwheel. Pilots are taught that if control is lost, pull the release, let the tow ship go, he's just making it worse anyway. Hopefully if they don't release, the weak links in the tow rope will break and the tow plane/pilot while upset about being jerked around.. will fly off safely. Hopefully is was a 180HP S-Cub, and not a 150HP model. We traded our 180HP Scout for a 235HP Pawnee and have upgraded that too 250HP. Better accelerations and climb out.. there is nothing like Horsepower to a tow pilot. Better accelerations mean better roll control for the glider earlier into the take off run, that first distance after the wind runner can no longer keep up, until you reach flying speed can be vulnerable in x-wind conditions. Glider pilots kiting high on take off have killed more tow pilots than a glider with a wing down ground looping. BT CFI-Glider and Tow Pilot "Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:rftTj.95990$TT4.41859@attbi_s22... We flew to Ames, IA (home of "That Other State College in Iowa") today to schmooze and have lunch. Conditions when we got out of the hotel at noon were breezy/gusty, 12 to 20, but pretty close to right down the runway, and the sun was shining. At the end of another sell-out crazy weekend, we NEEDED to fly. Ames is home to an active glider operation (Mary and I took some soaring instruction there a few years back), and today was no different, despite the wind. Ames' Runway 19 was less than optimal, with a gusty cross wind, but I managed to squeak 'er in without too much turmoil. We were all glad to be back on terra firma, however, after a very bumpy descent. As I was standing on the wing stretching, enjoying the spring sunshine, I observed the Super Cub tow plane starting down Rwy 19, trundling along with the trainer in tow. In the blink of an eye, the cross wind lifted the glider's port wing, causing the starboard wing to dip. The glider caught the wingtip (I was too far away, but it *looked* like in the grass), causing the glider to momentarily get sideways. The tow plane's tail, already airborne, jerked down hard -- but just as quickly as we could gasp -- the glider's wings straightened up, the tow plane started to fly right, and they were soon clawing for altitude. Another cartwheel averted... I shook my head as I jumped off the wing, amazed at how close a thing aviation can be. We're always on the brink of disaster, it seems...but most of the time things work out... -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#3
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Close call -- glider ops
Dropping the Right wing on the initial part of the tow is not to uncommon for the glider as it hits the prop wash of the tow plane. I suspect it would be the Left wing when towing behing a towplane with a non US standard direction prop. Additionally we often practice non-wing runner takeoffs where we start with one wing on the ground. This is Ok in most trainers but not recommended in some high performance gliders or on many unpaved runways. The glider getting sideways is not normal, but in a crosswind can happen to some extent until the glider gathers enough speed to have adequate rudder authority to counteract the cross wind. The tow planes tail jerking down does not seem to unusual, unless you mean it slammed to the ground. The glider can pretty easily change the direction of the tow plane. If either pilot thought there was any danger of losing control they should have released. If the glider did turn sideways enough to lose control the Weak Link on the tow rope should have broken. You are correct that in flying we are often, especially during take- off and landing, only a split second from changing from being OK and normal to Not OK and Abnormal. This is where mental practice and physcial practice as appropriate of the things that might go wrong can save the day. Brian CFIIG/ASEL |
#4
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Close call -- glider ops
"Brian" wrote
... You are correct that in flying we are often, especially during take- off and landing, only a split second from changing from being OK and normal to Not OK and Abnormal. This is where mental practice and physcial practice as appropriate of the things that might go wrong can save the day. Brian CFIIG/ASEL That damn split second governs all facets of our lives, not just flying. Certainly true of flying, though.... G. |
#5
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Close call -- glider ops
That damn split second governs all facets of our lives, not just flying.
I often ponder this when driving down a curvy 2-lane highway, with strangers hurtling toward me at a combined speed of 140 mph. Just two weeks ago an acquaintance was killed when she drifted over the centerline on a curve and hit someone head-on. All it takes is a moment's inattention. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#6
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Close call -- glider ops
On May 5, 5:56*am, "Jay Honeck" wrote:
That damn split second governs all facets of our lives, not just flying. I often ponder this when driving down a curvy 2-lane highway, with strangers hurtling toward me at a combined speed of 140 mph. * Just two weeks ago an acquaintance was killed when she drifted over the centerline on a curve and hit someone head-on. All it takes is a moment's inattention. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" This is one of the reasons I like teaching flying, with the exception of Take-off and landing there is little a student pilot can do that I don't have a lot of time to react to. Now a driving instructor is a brave soul.They may only have a split second to respond throughout most of the lesson and often only have a brake pedal for a dual control. Brian |
#7
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Close call -- glider ops
"Brian" wrote in message ... .... with the exception of Take-off and landing there is little a student pilot can do that I don't have a lot of time to react to. Then you have not had to teach glider aero launch/tow. With new primary students, the glider tends to flop around at the end of the tow rope like a freshly hooked fish. A new CFIG must learn very quickly how to react instantaneously. You may take over the controls, save the situation, and then transfer control back to your student two or three times in the space of a single minute! Vaughn |
#8
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Close call -- glider ops
On 2008-05-05, Jay Honeck wrote:
The tow plane's tail, already airborne, jerked down hard -- but just as quickly as we could gasp -- the glider's wings straightened up, the tow plane started to fly right, and they were soon clawing for altitude. Another cartwheel averted... I think you have to really screw up to cartwheel - a touch of the wing to the ground and it'll slide (well, so long as there aren't obstacles like potholes or runway lights to actually catch the wing). A wingtip drag tends to be much less drama than a glider pilot getting out of position (high) on lift off, which is most likely with a glider with a compromise or belly hook. The nose hook tends to bias the glider into going straight, but some gliders don't have them. Whenever I tow one of those, I'm on a hair trigger to pull the release in the tow plane. Especially if it's someone new to the type of glider! Things can go horribly wrong for the tow pilot very fast if a glider kites. It usually doesn't go all that well for the glider pilot either. A glider club I used to be a member of had one such glider kite not long after takeoff while on aerotow, I think the glider pilot got into a bit of a divergent PIO. Fortunately, I think the tow rope back released when the glider kited - and the glider ended up doing a *loop* at very low altitude. Fortunately, the pilot didn't crash and the tow plane didn't suffer a low altitude upset (which are often fatal). -- From the sunny Isle of Man. Yes, the Reply-To email address is valid. |
#9
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Close call -- glider ops
the glider kited - and the glider ended up doing a *loop* at very low
altitude. Whoa. I'll bet there were some shorts to be cleaned out after *that* little incident... -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#10
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Close call -- glider ops
"Jay Honeck" wrote in
news:rftTj.95990$TT4.41859@attbi_s22: We flew to Ames, IA (home of "That Other State College in Iowa") today to schmooze and have lunch. Conditions when we got out of the hotel at noon were breezy/gusty, 12 to 20, but pretty close to right down the runway, and the sun was shining. At the end of another sell-out crazy weekend, we NEEDED to fly. Ames is home to an active glider operation (Mary and I took some soaring instruction there a few years back), and today was no different, despite the wind. Ames' Runway 19 was less than optimal, with a gusty cross wind, but I managed to squeak 'er in without too much turmoil. We were all glad to be back on terra firma, however, after a very bumpy descent. As I was standing on the wing stretching, enjoying the spring sunshine, I observed the Super Cub tow plane starting down Rwy 19, trundling along with the trainer in tow. In the blink of an eye, the cross wind lifted the glider's port wing, causing the starboard wing to dip. The glider caught the wingtip (I was too far away, but it *looked* like in the grass), causing the glider to momentarily get sideways. The tow plane's tail, already airborne, jerked down hard -- but just as quickly as we could gasp -- the glider's wings straightened up, the tow plane started to fly right, and they were soon clawing for altitude. Another cartwheel averted... I shook my head as I jumped off the wing, amazed at how close a thing aviation can be. We're always on the brink of disaster, it seems...but most of the time things work out... You're an idiot Bertie |
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