On Aug 28, 12:28 am, bagmaker
wrote:
1.) If you bail out in the high altitude, you might consider a
freefall for some time, lets say 1 minute to get you down to more
dense air. If you have a lanyard (also known as a static line, which
can only be installed by a rigger) you would need some sort of oxygen
supply because the parachute will open immediately.

Jacek
Pasco, WA

Guys, you a scaring me!

How long does it take to freefall (say) 10000' ?
Or 5000 ?
We know if we have departed the cosy cockpit real high because we would
have a sore nose from the oxy supply being ripped out, and, we were real
high when we lost control. Things get sticky after that, like how long
did it take me to depart?
How long was I spinning/tumbling/flipping before I departed?

Most of the bale-outs I have heard of (not many) have occured as a result
of a mid-air or the wings departing for whatever reason, luckily quite
high.
More dangerous Mid-airs are normally quite low, as the gliders hit whilst
entering a thermal during pull-up.

I suppose the luxury of having any height is a good start, but now I have
to think of oxygen starvation during a successful bale-out as well!

Is there a good way to determine a 10000' height when falling, to pull a
ripcord? Surely there is enough go-gas available at even 15000 for a
minute or so of slow decent under a canopy to survive the fall?
Or should we wait until 2 or 3000' before pulling (and be guessing that
height too) the ripcord.

As a non-jumper, how long does one actually have freefalling at our
glider flying heights before hitting the ground?

I fear over-complicating such an emergency is a step backwards, but I am
open to the conversation.

Thanks,

bagger

--
bagmaker

Yeah, those are some questions a non-jumper might asks. It takes about
60 seconds to freefall for about 10,000 feet. And I don't want to go
to maybe 55 sec. or maybe a 1 min. 05 sec. argument, but a good number
is 60 seconds. In the US or Europe, flights above 18,000 ft are not
really that unusual. In many cases pilots will go to 30,000 ft levels
or even higher. So, if you have to bail out at that altitude would you
pull the ripcord right away? I would not. I would freefall for at
least 60 seconds or a time that is is necessary to deploy my parachute
at or below 15,000 ft. In a case of non jumpers that initial
acceleration is horrifying, but after you accelerate to about 120 MPH
the sensation of speed goes away. The only thing remaining is that
everybody who exits an aircraft without a training, will be spinning
in the freefall. Guaranteed. That is why I did recommend to take a
couple of jumps with a tandem instructor or maybe for those with more
courage, take a couple of jumps with 2 AFFF instructors. They will
teach you, among other things, how to freefall stable in the "arch"
position. When you take the plunge, you will look at things with
totally different perspective. Now, the issue is how are you going to
time yourself; and I don't know how to answer that. If I am
freefalling I can determine the approximate altitude fairly
accurately. I guess for a pilot only, the answer should be "freefall
as far as you can within some reasonable amount of time". There was 2
documented saves from wave flights (high altitude) that I am aware of,
that happen not long ago; one in France, when a section of the
sailplane wing broke off and one in Nevada when a sailplane broke
apart in flight. Thankfully, both pilots are alive and can talk about
it. Than comes the issue of "normal" altitude due to a collision for
example. Now the answer is more simple: jettison the canopy, free
yourself from whatever attaches you to the glider such as oxygen
system, microphone and finally seat belts get out, clear the sailplane
and pull. If the glider is spinning, go with the spin. That is very,
very important. But if you are low, and for example you aileron
disconnected itself and you know you cannot land sailplane in that
condition, what do you do? Do you jump out? You might be to low for
the parachute to fill itself with air and slow you down. But you can
jettison the canopy, raise yourself in the cockpit sideways, try to
stand up as much as possible, and when your container with the
parachute is in the air stream, pull the rip cord. Let the parachute
pull you out of the glider. And yes, you might hit the tail with your
hands, arm, leg, you might even brake it, but you will live, heal and
fly again. I recommend that everybody have a plan and practice
emergency exit. You never know if it might become handy or not, but at
least you are prepared and you will know what to do. And that is the
least you can do for yourself.

There is the perception among glider pilots, that the parachute
lanyard is being attached to the ripcord handle. That is wrong. The
parachute lanyard is attached directly to your closing pins, so if you
don't disconnect before you get out of the cockpit, chances are pretty
good you might accidentally open the container and get the pilot chute
to pup up and the canopy fabric coming out. There is also a perception
that parachutes are nothing more than expensive cushion to seat on.
Many will leave the parachute in the cockpit, in the glider stored in
the trailer that is parked outside in 100+ degree weather. I have seen
pilots spilling drinks, such as Coke, on the parachute and they call
it fine. I am a former skydiver, former static line instructor,
current parachute rigger. I have been flying since 1980 and I have
seen different mishaps and accidents and I know that there are ways to
reduce chances of accidents by a huge margin, just by preparing
ourselves mentally and theoretically about given subject.

Now, I opened a cane of worms, but I am ready for the shots.

Jacek
Pasco, WA