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Old June 24th 09, 10:45 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Derek Copeland[_2_]
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Posts: 146
Default Winch Launch Fatality

At 19:50 24 June 2009, Surfer! wrote:
In message , Del C
writes


Some glass single seaters are very good at hiding the release knob

almost
out of reach somewhere below your crutch and behind the stick. On my

own
glider I have extended the cable so it is easier to reach the knob

(with
the approval of a BGA Inspector I hasten to add).

The last fatal cartwheel accident in the UK involved an ASW20L glider.

If
you read the aaib report, they concluded that once the stick was hard

over
to the left, which it would have been as it was the right wing that
dropped, it would have been almost impossible to get to the release

knob
if you weren't holding it already!



I might be wrong but I think they also concluded that having the left
hand where it could reach the release knob would have made full left
aileron impossible.



Either way, it's not a desirable design feature.!!!

Derek C