On Sep 4, 10:55 pm, ucsdcpc wrote:
FYI, quote from the BGA "SUPPLEMENT TO BGA 'SAFE WINCH LAUNCHING' LEAFLET" notes
for instructors:

"If the wing drops on the ground the glider may rotate about the wing tip and
cartwheel. If the wing drops in every hundredth launch, there will be one wing
drop accident in 800 wing drop incidents. This is a recipe for complacency and
indeed it is experienced pilots who have the majority of wing drop accidents.
After the wing has dropped the cartwheel can be so rapid that no recovery by
releasing or other means is possible. This hazard must be anticipated and
pre-empted by conducting the launch with the left hand on the release, and
releasing immediately if it is not possible to keep the wings level.


A timely quote. Please heed.

I don't quite understand some of the discussion here. Things are very
simple.

You do not attach a cable to the glider until it is ready to fly. All
checks complete, nothing left to do. (If you're still fiddling with
the GPS at this point you're an idiot.) Then, "cable on please". You
have one hand on the stick and the other holds the release. You will
not have time to go feeling for the release if you need it. There is
no way any launch could be violent enough that you'd pull the release
accidently. Think about how hard you need to pull to operate the
release, then try to imagine how a launch could be so rough that your
arm could be moved enough to generate that same force against your
will. Not going to happen.

If, for any reason, you are no longer happy with proceeding with the
launch while waiting for it to commence you pull the release.

If a wing touches the ground you release instantly. I've seen four
ground loops in the last month, each one because the pilot thought the
glider would recover. Sometimes it will, sometime it won't. What the
hell is the point in gambling on that? It takes all of a minute to
reposition the glider and tug or winch cable.

It's hard to see how you could screw up if you follow these simple
procedures. I don't give a toss who invented them or why - they're
safe, and that's all that matters to me.


Dan