On Friday, May 15, 2015 at 9:14:42 PM UTC-6, John Cochrane wrote:
Excellent thread to start.

My major problem has been with wing running in contests. Perpetually crewless, I am at the mercy of helpful volunteers. While good hearted, they often have 2-33 technique.

1. Water tanks are typically not full up due to weight limits. So one wing is often heavy. Wing runners need to understand the mechanism here, and hold one wing high or low while water glugs thorugh the baffles. The wing must be balanced -- no heavy weight one way or another. Slosh the water if not.

2. The wing runner must hold the wing level! Often especially with winglets it's not clear where level is.

3. Except in a significant crosswind, where the upwind wing must be slightly low. This conflicts with number one. Hence, slosh the wings to balanced, then lower the upwind wing by a foot or so just as the run starts. Do NOT hold the upwind wing high! (Especially at mifflin, 20 mph cross, runway lights... That scrape was no fun at all)

4. Run. RUN, do you hear me? We run contests in hot, humid weather, and often with cross-downwind conditions and at significant altitude. Two steps and let it fly works for the 2-33 at home, but not here.

5. Don't pull or push. Holding gently at the back of the winglet works well.

It's a small thing, and I hate to complain to volunteers, whose efforts I really do appreciate. But somehow this briefing seems to get left out at more contests than not, with resulting dropped wing after dropped wing and the occasional groundloop.

John Cochrane BB

The problem here is with the concept of "level". Throw that one out the window - the wings need to be ballanced in all conditions, even crosswinds. Don't say, "level the wings" again - say, "balance the wings".

With sloshing water ballast, say, "equalize the water tanks then balance".

A pro-forma lowering of the upwind wing just sets up control problems after the wing runner drops away. Just balance the thing! Ballanced is exactly the right tilt into the wind.

To make this work, the pilot must hold neutral ailerons no matter what the FAA's Glider Flying Handbook says as long as the wing runner's hand is on the wing tip - don't fight the wing runner. When the runner drops away, the wing will remain very close to balanced until aileron control is attained.