On Monday, June 3, 2019 at 7:58:43 AM UTC-6, Charles Ethridge wrote:
Hi, everyone.

I searched but couldn't find the posts just now, but I think I remember reading posts from some of you who said that you have successfully "flown" your glider on the ground in a thunderstorm after a landout.

Having been a CFI and charter pilot in Nebraska, I'm quite familiar with landing and taxiing in very high winds (50-60 mph one day in Wichita in a Cessna 150 - basically flying the plane on the ground)

Since I haven't read about this technique in any of my glidering books, I got curious about what exactly is your technique.

In powered planes, one can use the engine to stay in place, but with a glider, assuming that you do not have a hammer and a "claw" ground tie-down to tie down the nose of the glider, wouldn't the strong wind move you backwards, perhaps breaking the tail assembly?

And if you get lifted off by a gust, couldn't that technique prove deadly?

But then if that technique is inherently dangerous, what is a less dangerous technique? Quartering the glider into the wind and sitting on the upwind wing? I don't remember reading that one either in any of my glidering books. For that matter, I don't remember reading about ANY approaching thunderstorm landout techniques in any of my glidering books.

What have you done in this situation that has worked out well...and not?

Ben

Several years ago, we had quite a spectacular front roar out of Wyoming into Colorado. The winds were 90mph near the glider port and dropped gradually to farther east to 65mph were I was in Greeley, CO, playing baseball with the Boy Scout troop on a father/son outing. I got a call on my cell. A club member in the 1-34 had been at 14,000 MSL (~8500 AGL) near Fort Collins and attempted to get back to Owl Canyon before the front arrived. He landed about four miles south in a field. He didn't have the club's number in his phone. I got his location and called the club and gave them his number.. He stayed in the glider as it probably would have been much worse, and surely more dangerous, to try and exit it rather than to 'ground fly' it. The winds were dropping as a crew from the club hooked up a trailer and went to get him. The property owner did walk out of the glider and asked if he needed help and I think helped the crew get into the field. Back in Greeley, we kept everyone under the shelter as a lot of large limbs were departing the mature trees.

Frank Whiteley