Two die in Glider mid-air

And, speaking of jets...

Years ago, while climbing above the Black Forest Glider Port at about 11,000
MSL (4,000 AGL), I noticed a tiny spot on the horizon to the south. On the
next turn, I saw the B-757 maneuvering to avoid a collision with me! I was
thankful that those guys had their heads outside the cockpit and saw me
because I had no chance to avoid a collision.

I always wondered why the FAA routed airliners traveling between Colorado
Springs (COS) and Denver (DEN) directly over our small airpark at 11,000'
MSL.

And to bore everyone further - back in the late 70s, and before knowing
anything about gliders, I was flight engineer on a B-727 on a leg between
DEN (the old Stapleton airport) and COS. Our clearance took us directly
down the ramparts of the Front Range and the captain said, "Let's see how
fast this baby will go!". We were cruising at 350 KIAS at 11,000 MSL right
over prime glider territory! I don't recall the season and I've always
wondered if there were any gliders there at the time...


"Matt RX" wrote in message
...[color=blue][i]

Mike the Strike;782551 Wrote:
On Sep 6, 8:10*pm, Mike I Green
wrote:
A PowerFlarm might have prevented this accident. *I am getting one.

Mike Green

As I have reported here before, I had a close head-on with a fellow
club member a couple of years ago. We were flying in opposite
directions along a cloudstreet and were in radio contact. I suddenly
saw a flash of orange ahead and slightly to my right, so I
instinctively climbed and banked left. My colleague passed not fifty
feet under my right wing and he never even saw me. One of the few
times that anti-collision markings helped (my glider has none). A
review of our GPS traces showed us closing at a speed of over 200 mph
(300 feet per second) and the time between seeing a head-on glider and
impact was barely sufficient to react.

Electronic countermeasures are the only solution.

Mike

Report on CBC radio this morning indicated that the Canadian Rockies
Soaring Club had just ordered FLARM for all their gliders prior to the
accident.... Unforunatley not installed in time. Not sure if the gliders
involved were club ships. I met Keith Watson a few weeks ago when he
dropped by the club I fly with and we talked for quite some time while I
was working on my LS-3. Nice guy and I was sadened to hear about the
accident.

Mid airs have always been my biggest source of fear in soaring. I get
upset with myself everytime I notice a Cessna after it has already
passed me! I watched a Challenger pass by once at the same altitude and
thought to myself that I would have 0 chance avoiding a head on with a
jet. I`m borderline obsessive with keeping track of every other glider
in the air and I`m still surprised how many times I loose people and
find them again much closer than expected.

Matt




--
Matt RX