Which vehicle to tow a glider trailer has been debated
ad nauseum on RAS. I have always been a staunch supporter
of towing with a full-size truck. After the events
of last Thursday, I feel my position is vindicated.

I was towing my sailplane westbound on Interstate 40
near Gallup, NM. I had just come through a nasty rain
& hail storm bad enough that traffic had been stopped
completely for several minutes. The worst part of
the storm passed quickly, but there was still moderate
rain as traffic began moving again. I was up to about
40 MPH when an eastbound GMC Yukon lost control and
spun into my westbound lane. I managed to get nearly
stopped before he spun head-on into me. Despite major
damage to both vehicles, all 7 occupants (me + 6 in
the Yukon) walked away completely unhurt! My sailplane
and trailer suffered absolutely no damage.

My wife arrived about 2 hours later with the backup
truck and I was able to continue to the airshow in
Kingman, AZ. A very thorough inspection of the sailplane
before assembly showed no indication at all of the
crash. The items in the seat pan were undisturbed,
the G-meter still showed the levels from my last aerobatic
flight and there wer no indications of any bumping
or scuffing anywhere on the wings or fuselage.

It was an emergency stop, downhill on very wet pavement.
About the worst possible scenario for a controlled
stop with a trailer. I hate to think what would have
happened if I'd been towing with a VW or Z3.

Here's the link to a photo of the crash (Mine is the
white Dodge, the trailer isn't visible in the photo).

http://www.silentwingsairshows.com/images/wreck.jpg

Despite the fact that he was driving a $40,000 Yukon,
the other driver had no insurance (or job, or phone
number, ...), so my uninsured motorist coverage will
cover the damages, while Mr. Ortega and family walk
away with nothing but a pair of citations for driving
too fast for conditions, and no insurance. I'm already
looking for another truck.

Bob C.