I agree, Hank; ballasting was my responsibility. On the grid at Cordele, I removed the wing wheel and double checked, taking time to make sure the water had stabilized and the wings were level. Obviously I misjudged it standing at the right wing because later, after the line crew removed my wing wheel, from the cockpit it seemed like the girl at the right wingtip was holding it a little high (indicating it was heavy). I called out to her over the tow plane noise not once but twice with "Are they balanced?" She nodded the first time. The second time she took her hand off the wingtip to show me ("why doesn't that man believe me?" haha). Since she had the wings balanced, I didn't even think about declining the launch; the line crew had it under control.
I have assumed--but don't know--that when she handed the wingtip to the actual wing runner, that balance was lost. If it looked high to me, it probably did to him. Maybe the slight tailwind contributed. Maybe I just did a bad job on takeoff. Most important, unlike at Nephi, this time I made the right decision and pulled the release. No harm done.
[I'm thinking of using a bubble level or other visual indicator so I can ensure the wings are level when I'm solo. I've seldom launched with full tanks and dumped down; even at max gross the water still sloshes around and the takeoff performance is reduced.]
Agreed, wing runners don't have to be experts but they must know the basics.. And that includes balancing the wings. Even when my tanks are absolutely even, the wing runner still has to make sure one tip isn't lower/heavier than the other. There are no baffles; just two compartments per bag that allow water to flow easily back and forth. It's as important as not letting go of the tip after two steps and not holding back when they can't keep up.
Contest line crews are heavily populated with local kids, many of whom don't have much experience. They're enthusiastic and athletic and they learn quickly. But they have to be trained and supervised. Perhaps we need to add a session for them in the pre-contest briefing where pilots can express their concerns and even demonstrate what works and doesn't work for their gliders.
Some years ago, the young, inexperienced wing runner at a Hobbs multi-class nationals was holding back, steering pilots off course. The problem was the advice he was getting to grasp the wing by both the leading and trailing edges. I didn't want to argue technique on the line so I immediately drafted my daughter, who had never run a wing before. I briefed her for a few minutes, calmed her nervousness, and reassured her she would do great. A 16-year-old high school track star, she ran it perfectly...and was promptly approached by half a dozen pilots to run their wings. The operations director watched what was going on, then quickly recruited her for the line crew. She ended up running wings for nearly all of the crewless pilots at the contest.
This made the contest a lot more fun for Tina, she took home a few bucks from the "pass the hat" line crew fund, and she wrote her college common app essay on the experience, which apparently impressed admissions directors. Soaring is a great sport!
Don't just gripe; speak up...constructively. The Cordele line crew did a fine job the past two weeks. But when I observed one of the younger ones struggling to balance a ballasted wing during the pre-contest weighing, I approached the operations director there and politely advised him that many of us would be launching with partial ballast and it was critical to balance, not necessarily level the wings before launch. He graciously acknowledged my concern and said he would make sure the crew were properly instructed. I believe they were.
John is correct. It's hardly whining to suggest there are problems at many contests involving the launch sequence. I've thrashed the wing runner issue to death. Sometimes tow pilots show up who haven't towed a lot of ballasted gliders, or towed at that airport, or whose aircraft have ASIs that aren't spot on. I have to call for "[towplane ID], 5 knots more airspeed, please" at least once a contest.
The next tow I got at Nephi after my incident last year was from the same tow pilot. And, again, he seemed to stand on the brakes while powering up, then release them with a predictable slingshot effect on the tow rope. I sought out the chief tow pilot, asked him about the practice, and diplomatically offered my assessment. He listened thoughtfully and promised to talk to the tow pilot. Whatever was said, if anything, it didn't happen again.
He didn't suggest that I bring my own tow pilot if I didn't like the ones he managed.
We pilots should be proactive in helping organizers address staffing issues.. Pilots certainly make mistakes; organizers do, too. The smart ones accept our criticism and suggestions graciously, decide which ones make sense, and take appropriate action.
Just my opinion.
Chip Bearden
"JB"