IDAHO FATALITY

At 21:47 22 August 2011, Eric Greenwell wrote:
On 8/22/2011 9:12 AM, Mike wrote:
On Aug 21, 10:27 pm, Bruce Hoult wrote:
On Aug 22, 8:47 am, John Cochrane
wrote:

A little rudder
to help the turn along, a little back stick because we're not as high
as we thought, and in the glider goes.

I can't help but wonder how many fewer people would ever have the idea
to try the above if it hadn't been suggested to them by their
instructor's patter during training.

I'm with JJ on this topic. I find it incredible that just about every
glider with retractable gear has a gear warning alarm to keep from
damaging the gelcoat or a couple of layers of carbon on the belly, but
we don't have an "Open Spoiler" alarm to prevent someone from dying on
tow..

I think a "open spoiler on tow" is a great idea, and I've had one for
several years, as do some other people. If you have a Cambridge 302
vario, it's easy to add one, especially if it's already used for your
gear warning.

Operation is simple: if your spoilers are still unlocked as the airspeed
increases past ~25 knots, you get an audible warning. It works for towed
gliders and motorgliders, using the same gear and spoiler switches used
for the gear warning - no changes in wiring needed.

Perhaps even better than a warning device is one that prevents them from
opening in the first place. DG gliders can do a retrofit of the "Piggot
hook" that prevents the spoilers from opening if they are left unlocked.
Get the info from DG. Many gliders (at least experimental licensed ones)
can be easily fitted with a similar device.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)

- "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation Mar/2004" Much of what
you need to know tinyurl.com/yfs7tnz



A bungee cord can be fastened to the air brake handle with the other end
fastened to a forward location. This will keep the air brakes closed even
though they are not locked. I have used this system on several gliders.