On Sunday, September 9, 2018 at 7:45:23 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Wednesday, September 5, 2018 at 3:37:44 PM UTC-4, wrote:
I have been soaring since the late 70's and can recall many accidents in the past. It seems, however, that recently the accident rate has spiked. While I don't have exact data to confirm this (I'm sure our friends at the SSF have it), it seems that we are experiencing higher than average accidents and fatalities.

I find myself wondering what is causing this. Is it the complexity of gliders emerging in recent years? Is it the age/experience of the pilots? Lack of training? I don't have the answers but I would be interested in other's thoughts on the issue. One accident is too many and loss of any life is tragic.

Greig
Two videos you should view to heighten your safety. The first is especially an eye opener regarding the inadvertant spin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeI2...&feature=share

Bruno shares two thoughts about mountain flying:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Alk-q4golx0

Fly safely, my friends,

November Bravo

The first video demonstrates that most stall-spin accidents are due to uncoordinated flight and misuse of the rudder. A contributing factor is fear of seeing the ground at low altitudes. I would concentrate on detecting that, rather than angle of attack. Perhaps we need an audible yaw string (all that it would take is an accelerometer).

Bruno has a history of histrionics (glider breaks the rule of gravity, Glider Pilot Gets Desperately Low in Teton Mountains), so I wouldn't put much weight on the 2nd video.

Tom