On Jun 26, 5:27*pm, Ramy wrote:
On Tuesday, June 26, 2012 4:05:48 PM UTC-7, son_of_flubber wrote:
On Tuesday, June 26, 2012 12:54:09 PM UTC-4, soartech wrote:
So the next issue of Soaring magazine will come off the press without
a single word about this horrible accident... like it never happened!!

The way it works over time is this: 1)you get hooked on the sport, 2)you become vaguely aware that it's dangerous and that you need to be careful, 3)you come to terms with the fact that it can kill you. *4)A friend or acquaintance gets killed or maimed.

Think about it. *If the first thing you learned about soaring was that it can kill you, what would happen? *You'd probably plow your thousands of dollars into some really nifty RC model gliders. *My copy of Soaring goes to my local library. *Maybe somebody will pick it up and take up soaring. *Don't list the departed souls.

Soaring Magazine has a lot in it every month about the hazards of soaring, but it's almost always hypothetical. *A simple tally sheet of crashes and injuries would drive the point home without anyone getting sued. *But the SSA chooses to not do that. *Why? It's a glaring omission. *THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES. *When you suggest that there is something wrong with this picture, you get a knee-jerk reaction. Wierd.

Someone tell me why there is never a tally of accidents in Soaring Magazine.

Good points, although there used to be a regular accident column written by Thelen until few years ago. Since then there is an occasional accident report.
But indeed many of us picked up soaring since we were told that it is safer than driving to the airport. By the time we realized the truth, we were already hooked. I would probably still flying hang gliders today if I knew back then that sailplanes are more dangerous. But I have no regrets. I understand the risks and willing to take them to be able to enjoy this amazing sport. But I am sure that most new pilots and ride passengers do not understand the risks.

Ramy

It really sounds if you want someone else to look out for you. It
isn't going to happen - you're on your own. If you can't deal with
that, maybe RC gliders are better for you.

Gliders rarely hurt anyone. Pilots, on the other hand, have hurt
many, many gliders. Saying "soaring is dangerous" is nonsense -
dangerous nonsense. It detracts from careless and unprepared pilots
who ARE dangerous. 99.9 % of the time, one millisecond before impact,
it was a perfectly airworthy glider. The glider didn't put itself in
that position, the pilot did.

If you are going to get hurt, there's a 99.9% chance it will be your
fault. Don't blame soaring for that.

There's a wonderful old WWII era saying that goes, "The 99% of air
crashes are caused by a LOOSE NUT ON THE CONTROL STICK meaning the
pilot. Even then, pilots were the weak link.

Do new pilots understand this? They damn well better. It's part of
their basic training.