I don't understand the NOAH system. Why not just put a ballistic recovery
chute in the glider? That way you don't need to worry about getting out,
you are somewhat protected when you hit the ground, and your chute will
deploy even if you pull the cord at 300 ft.

Mike Schumann

"Bill Daniels" bildan@comcast-dot-net wrote in message
. ..

"bagmaker" wrote in message
...

-
You've had a whack, but everything feels fine. Do you
stay in the
glider, or leave? Just how reliable are the parachutes
we use? I
understand that they're fairly simple quick-opening
designs, but
there's no reserve, right? Has a glider-pilot parachute
ever failed?


Dan

-

Dan,
Simply, there is no blanket answer, way too many variables exist.
Derek Piggot writes a fascinating account of his bail-out in some of his
gliding books, I would suggest reading them.
Gliding Kiwi has a great article this month on a NZ instructor landing a
rudderless puch with a PAX - more heart stopping reading!

Basically if it does fly after a hit, check to see that it will keep
flying with some harsh movements -height limits withstanding- long enough
to land. Landing manuevering can be rough, you want to be sure the thing
doesnt fail at 100 feet after nursing down from a good bail out height.

Rough rule has been bandied about RAS about 1500 ft as a minimum bail-out
altitude, many would disagree, but if you dont have a choice.....

Bottom line is you are worth more than a glider, if in doubt, get out

fly safe
Bagger

I've twice faced the decision to jump or land a crippled glider. The
first was a Pratt-Read badly damaged from a mid-air. I had fresh jump
training, a fresh repack and a stable jump platform but I decided to land
it anyway. The critical decision was whether I could control the glider
from the time it decended below a safe jump altitude until it was on the
ground. I could and did. For the record, the other pilot in the mid-air
did the same thing.

The second was an experimental flying wing where a suposedly secure lead
shot bag shifted in flight so as to jam the elevator/aileron bellcranks.
I found I could steer with rudder and slow it to 70Kts with trim. That
let me hit the runway on a fast, shallow glide. It was a rough landing
but the glider and I survived to fly again.

In both cases there was intense discussion post flight about the wisdom of
my decisions. A slim majority said the conservative action was to have
abandoned ship. My view was if the thing is more or less controllable,
and you have a big airfield to aim at, land it. If it is an airplane
loaded with fuel, that might shift the decision toward jumping. However,
a glider that can be flown to hit a large flat area at a shallow angle is
likely to be safer than the 'chute. If there is any doubt that the glider
will remain controllable - jump.

The real problem here is struggling to rise from a reclining position and
crawl over the side with a 15 pound 'chute on your back. That's
difficult. Being old, out of shape and/or overweight makes it impossible.
This is where the NOAH system from DG is so significant. Of all the
safety related things that one could spend money on, the NOAH system tops
the list for me.

Bill Daniels




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