Gliding risk....

The facts seem pretty clear

- Bad news: on a per hour basis, soaring is pretty risky

-Good news: the risks are not of the Russian-roulette type, how many barrels are loaded. The risk is primarily that you or I will do something dumb. Gliding is inherently quite safe. No engine = no engine failure, no engine fire, etc. Unforseeable mechanical failures and mid-air collisions outside of competition are really really rare. So what risks you face are entirely a question of how you approach decision-making.

- We all say we're going to make great decisions, but even the apparently safest and most careful pilots are often capable of making bad decisions.

- There is little correlation between the ability to fly fast and to fly safely. And people (like me) who talk a lot about safety on the ground are often just as prone to temptation in the air as others.

It's often expressed awkwardly. Yes, in the back row at every funeral we mutter, "well, I wouldn't do something that dumb." That keeps us going to get back in the air. Perhaps a better attitude is, I would, and probably will, unless I get really really careful and recognize my own susceptibility to temptation.

John Cochrane BB

Very good synopsis John, Well said, thoughtful and concise enough to keep in mind while on task.

On Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 2:26:36 PM UTC, John Cochrane wrote:
The facts seem pretty clear

- Bad news: on a per hour basis, soaring is pretty risky

-Good news: the risks are not of the Russian-roulette type, how many barrels are loaded. The risk is primarily that you or I will do something dumb.. Gliding is inherently quite safe.

I am a pessimist and have a different personal perspective on my own gliding safety. In my view every time I take a launch in a glider it will end in my fatality unless I prevent it. (Proof - put a dummy in a glider and launch it.)

Fortunately the actions to prevent that are pretty simple and vary according to the phase of flight. 1) Make sure the glider is airworthy and think out the launch emergency plan in advance. 2) If the wing hits the ground on a winch launch release immediately. 3) If you cant keep adequate control and position on an aerotow release immediately put the stick forward and follow the emergency plan. 4) In free flight *look out* and do not hit another glider - or a mountainside. 5) Fly accurately at all times and if anything whatsoever surprising ever happens in any turn then put the stick forward to unload the wing immediately - or better still sooner than that - then think. 6) Always have an realistic plan about where to land if something goes goes wrong with the soaring (or the engine doesn't start). 7) Never find yourself "holding the nose up" when close to the ground or on an aerotow (not the same as appropriate raising the nose to slow down) because that means the stick is being held back, the angle of attack is too high and you are in risk of being an unfortunate statistic. 8) Actively monitor the airspeed and attitude during the turn to finals and give it an extra few knots.

The underlying principles are preparation, not hitting anything, constant awareness of the angle of attack relative to the stall, and situational awareness.

Yes, I have broken a glider (in an unexpectedly long grass field landing) and, yes, I am aware that I have just jinxed myself by writing this.

“Proof - put a dummy in a glider and launch it.�

We see many “dummies being launched each week, and they’re not maniquines but real dumb flesh n blood.

On Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 2:34:02 PM UTC-5, wrote:
“Proof - put a dummy in a glider and launch it.�

We see many “dummies being launched each week, and they’re not maniquines but real dumb flesh n blood.

I have seen many of those in my day, go ahead and let them go! Mistakes do happen, careless assembly almost cost me my life as a very young glider pilot. Wish I would have read the book, Glider Assembly For Dummies. Bob

Many years ago I read an old book that was a collection of self submitted/reported stories from glider pilots that had a good outcome from a potentially disaterous situation. I think it was called "Glider accidents that almost happened".
It's a short book, more of a complication of short stories, but provided experiences of others that all people can learn from.

At 13:48 06 December 2019, rudolph stutzmann wrote:
Many years ago I read an old book that was a collection of self
submitted/reported stories from glider pilots that had a good outcome
from
a potentially disaterous situation. I think it was called "Glider
accidents that almost happened".
It's a short book, more of a complication of short stories, but provided
experiences of others that all people can learn from.


It's called Soaring Accidents That Almost Happened and there happens to be
a
copy listed on ebay