Glider pilot rolls inverted and exits at 1400 feet AGL

Kirk has a lot of good ideas! I, too, will keep the "push the stick forward to help get out" maneuver in mind. If that doesn't work, though, seven years ago on RAS Kirk suggested a last resort maneuver:

"You can't get out of the cockpit. Last resort, (canopy gone) is to unstrap, lean forward as far as you can (pull yourself using the instrument panel), then pull the rip-cord. You WILL be extracted from the glider."

I sincerely hope that I never have to use either maneuver!

-John, Q3

On Monday, July 28, 2014 2:22:50 PM UTC-4, kirk.stant wrote:
On Monday, July 28, 2014 10:22:42 AM UTC-5, son_of_flubber wrote:
Do aerobatic-versed pilots plan this inverted exit strategy in advance? It seems rather fast and efficient.

No. If you have enough control to roll inverted, you can probably land the glider.

After a midair, who knows what the plane will do.

And taking the time to roll upside down (real slooowww in a glider) is a poor choice most of the time, when all you have to do is undo your straps and slam the stick forward - if you get more than 1 negative G that's the same as falling out from an upside down cockpit.

But practically, after a midair your glider will probably either be spinning (loss of most a a wing?) or diving steeply (loss of tail controls) so the trick is to get out any way you can RIGHT NOW and not go for style points.

The "roll upside down and drop out" comes from situations in planes where you still had control but had to get out - like a fire, or out of fuel over unlandable terrain. Common advice in WW2 fighter manuals.

Of course, if you are upside down as a result of a midair, I sure wouldn't try to roll rightside up before getting out!

Kirk
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