Gliding risk....

On Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 6:12:51 AM UTC-8, wrote:
Maybe the tether doesn't work because of unexpected sink or a deyhdrated pilot, but when it fails I'm at least on the way to the safety point having started with enough energy to get there in theory.



I don't believe in "unexpected sink". Sink always finds me, and it finds everyone eventually. Flying over rocks with a landing site at max L/D away (even with your safety margin set to 800 or 1000) will eventually land you in those rocks, at least out west. This is what I was talking about in leaving enough margin for error.

I'm not sure it comes across quite so clearly in his article but Bruce Taylor was unequivocal the morning after his flight that he had made a series of bad decisions that nearly led to a serious accident. It was a complete mea culpa; there was absolutely no attempt to justify his actions, no rationalization, no spin (no pun intended), and no bits of humor thrown in to lighten the mood. That's one reason why his talk was so sobering and impactful and the reception he got during the pilots' meeting and long after was so respectful.

Clearly he's a very, very good pilot. But he owned up to his mistakes 100%. Many of us thanked him in the days afterward and more than a few of us, I suspect, encouraged him to write the article so that more pilots could learn from his experience. I can also confirm that his voice sounded very calm, though serious, when he radioed in the blind to announce his predicament that afternoon. I had just come through that area not long before and seen how difficult was the terrain. His escape from that low point under tremendous pressure is a remarkable tribute to the man but so is the way he handled himself afterward.

I don't know Bruce well at all but, yeah, I'm a fan.

Chip Bearden
JB