Emergencies on aerotow

At 12:59 10 May 2014, wrote:
You cannot teach safety in paragraph-long sound bites. =20

Unlike a high percentage of glider pilots, if you want to be a safe
pilot,
=
you need to educate yourself.

How many launching emergencies are there? All pilots automatically think
of=
rope breaks. Believe it or not, 41 emergencies are listed, including:
"Ot=
hers I have not thought of."

Up to date, current, information about launching emergencies will be
found
=
in the popular, 2014 edition of the Glider Flight Training Manual,
($39.95
=
at www.eglider.org, or the SSA, or many glider clubs and FBOs) which
includ=
es a chart showing the data, including bank angle, airspeed, sink rate,
loa=
d factor, radius of turn, time for the turn and altitude lost during the
tu=
rn.

Using a moderate performance, fiberglass single seat sailplane, the data
re=
veals the ideal bank angle for minimum loss of altitude is a 45 degree
bank=
angle.

Using a 40 degree bank angle or a 50 degree bank angle will result in an
ad=
ditional one foot altitude loss.

Using 35 degrees, will cause an additional 4 foot loss compared with the
op=
timum, 30 degree bank angle 11 feet extra and at 60 degree bank angle, an
a=
dditional 10 feet.

Bottom line, from the stand point of altitude loss, bank angle is not
extre=
mely important as long as you use a reasonably steep bank angle during
the
=
emergency.
What about radius of turn? The steeper the bank angle, the smaller the
dia=
meter of the turn.=20

For the example sailplane:
60 degree bank angle 208 feet.
50 degree bank angle 236 feet.
40 degree bank angle 281 feet
35 degree bank angle 315 feet.

Bottom line - learn to use an adequate bank angle during a low altitude
eme=
rgency re-turn to the airfield. And keep the yaw string straight.

One of the preventative actions the tow pilot can do to help the glider
pil=
ot as well as the tow pilot in case of one of the 41 emergencies on tow
is
=
to allow the departing tow path to drift slightly downwind so the
resulting=
turn back to the runway is a simple 180 degree turn rather than a
button-h=
ook shaped turn.

There is much more to learn about this and other common all-to-frequent
eme=
rgencies than this simple sound bite.

If you are going to fly safely, you must avail yourself to the simple,
easy=
to learn details of safe, competent piloting skills and knowledge. It
can=
not be done with sound-bite size internet postings.

Tom Knauff


The all important question you should ask is "Can I land ahead". If, and
only if the answer is no should anything else be attempted.