"Brian" wrote in message
oups.com...

"The post mortem of the glider showed that the canopy had exploded outward
(not a single piece of loose Plexiglass was found in the
cockpit)" , " The fuselage underside was split from the nose back to the
main wheel", " The burning smell was the vaporized grounding cable
from the towhook to the rudder pedal assembly, and my scorched shoes and
socks.", " The control rod bearings throughtout the glider had
been temporarily welded together, and had then broken loose (that's why
the controls felt 'Lumpy'" "The cockpit and fuselage had been
overpressurized by heated air causing the canopy to explode outward and
the fuselage to split"

Be careful out there.

Uh....

I don't think I better share that one with my wife. Thanks, though.

I'd have landed but automated weather at the nearest airfield was reporting
wind at 18 gusting to 28, not lined up with the runway. Uncontrolled field,
small strip, night, never been there, didn't have a diagram in the
facilities directory.

Got through it by thinking that perhaps this is a slight taste of what every
combat pilot ever experienced and remembering what my grandfather said about
flak, which is that it was there and there was little else to do but ride it
out. Definately a learning experience. (Seattle radio reported no
significant weather activity there when I activated my flight plan.)

-c