Scary story about landing on a Lake Tahoe golf course

On Monday, July 27, 2020 at 8:54:44 AM UTC-4, Eric Greenwell wrote:
kinsell wrote on 7/27/2020 1:51 AM:
On 7/26/20 10:03 PM, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
On Sunday, July 26, 2020 at 5:56:27 PM UTC-7, John Cochrane wrote:
On Sunday, July 26, 2020 at 2:56:33 PM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
Good part was it was late in the day and there were no golfers on this hole:

https://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-3....l?dsId=8033935

Glad you're ok and no big damage or golfers injured. And now someone else gets
a chance on OLC for a few weeks!

I usually don't try Sergio's unless I see wind on the lake. Good streaks or
whitecaps needed, well before I cannot escape over the back to Carson..

The water south of sand harbor looks possible.

I've seen traces that retreat to the Carson valley via the 50 gap.

I gather the golf course in Kings beach has also been landed on, but these seem
very chancy.

Anyone else have a half decent plan B for the Tahoe basin?

John Cochrane

This land out really highlights the need for a good short game when flying XC.
If you had a two stroke, you wouldn't have been penalized.Â* Good drive to the
green!Â* Stay safe everyone.


I think he scored a birdie didn't he?

Better than a two-stroke handicap, with an electric he could have just flipped a
switch, turned a knob, and ended up in an attic.Â* Worked great for the guy in
Connecticut.Â* And that Kawa guy in Italy.

And 100s of uneventful saves by electric gliders we never hear about, because they
were successful. The two incidents you mention were caused by pilot errors, not
electric glider failures.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1

Starting an electric motor now counts as a "save"? :-)

T8

Tango Eight wrote on 7/27/2020 6:03 AM:
On Monday, July 27, 2020 at 8:54:44 AM UTC-4, Eric Greenwell wrote:
kinsell wrote on 7/27/2020 1:51 AM:
On 7/26/20 10:03 PM, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
On Sunday, July 26, 2020 at 5:56:27 PM UTC-7, John Cochrane wrote:
On Sunday, July 26, 2020 at 2:56:33 PM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
Good part was it was late in the day and there were no golfers on this hole:

https://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-3....l?dsId=8033935

Glad you're ok and no big damage or golfers injured. And now someone else gets
a chance on OLC for a few weeks!

I usually don't try Sergio's unless I see wind on the lake. Good streaks or
whitecaps needed, well before I cannot escape over the back to Carson..

The water south of sand harbor looks possible.

I've seen traces that retreat to the Carson valley via the 50 gap.

I gather the golf course in Kings beach has also been landed on, but these seem
very chancy.

Anyone else have a half decent plan B for the Tahoe basin?

John Cochrane

This land out really highlights the need for a good short game when flying XC.
If you had a two stroke, you wouldn't have been penalized.* Good drive to the
green!* Stay safe everyone.


I think he scored a birdie didn't he?

Better than a two-stroke handicap, with an electric he could have just flipped a
switch, turned a knob, and ended up in an attic.* Worked great for the guy in
Connecticut.* And that Kawa guy in Italy.

And 100s of uneventful saves by electric gliders we never hear about, because they
were successful. The two incidents you mention were caused by pilot errors, not
electric glider failures.

Starting an electric motor now counts as a "save"? :-)


I'm not counting, but sure, if something "saves" you from an undesired landing,
let's call it a "save". If the method of your save is important to anyone, they
can always ask you for details. It doesn't save your scoring in contests, of
course, unlike blundering into lift on the turn to base (for example).

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1

"unlike blundering into lift on the turn to base (for example)."

I ALWAYS blunder into lift on my base leg. It's Nature's way of screwing with my head.

On Monday, July 27, 2020 at 5:54:44 AM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
kinsell wrote on 7/27/2020 1:51 AM:
On 7/26/20 10:03 PM, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
On Sunday, July 26, 2020 at 5:56:27 PM UTC-7, John Cochrane wrote:
On Sunday, July 26, 2020 at 2:56:33 PM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
Good part was it was late in the day and there were no golfers on this hole:

https://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-3....l?dsId=8033935

Glad you're ok and no big damage or golfers injured. And now someone else gets
a chance on OLC for a few weeks!

I usually don't try Sergio's unless I see wind on the lake. Good streaks or
whitecaps needed, well before I cannot escape over the back to Carson..

The water south of sand harbor looks possible.

I've seen traces that retreat to the Carson valley via the 50 gap.

I gather the golf course in Kings beach has also been landed on, but these seem
very chancy.

Anyone else have a half decent plan B for the Tahoe basin?

John Cochrane

This land out really highlights the need for a good short game when flying XC.
If you had a two stroke, you wouldn't have been penalized.Â* Good drive to the
green!Â* Stay safe everyone.


I think he scored a birdie didn't he?

Better than a two-stroke handicap, with an electric he could have just flipped a
switch, turned a knob, and ended up in an attic.Â* Worked great for the guy in
Connecticut.Â* And that Kawa guy in Italy.

And 100s of uneventful saves by electric gliders we never hear about, because they
were successful. The two incidents you mention were caused by pilot errors, not
electric glider failures.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1

Any crash involving an inoperative powerplant on an auxiliary glider cannot be blamed on the power plant. That failure only made obvious the chain of errors the pilot made prior to its attempted use.

On Sunday, July 26, 2020 at 8:56:27 PM UTC-4, John Cochrane wrote:
I've seen traces that retreat to the Carson valley via the 50 gap.

I did that once, and pretty much followed the terrain down 50.
Even though no useful ridge lift inside the bowl, plenty of
sink on the lee side. Crossed the valley and ridge soared back
to Minden. Won't do that again...

Glad you're OK Ramy!

On Sunday, July 26, 2020 at 5:56:27 PM UTC-7, John Cochrane wrote:
On Sunday, July 26, 2020 at 2:56:33 PM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
Good part was it was late in the day and there were no golfers on this hole:

https://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-3....l?dsId=8033935

Glad you're ok and no big damage or golfers injured. And now someone else gets a chance on OLC for a few weeks!

I usually don't try Sergio's unless I see wind on the lake. Good streaks or whitecaps needed, well before I cannot escape over the back to Carson.

The water south of sand harbor looks possible.

I've seen traces that retreat to the Carson valley via the 50 gap.

I gather the golf course in Kings beach has also been landed on, but these seem very chancy.

Anyone else have a half decent plan B for the Tahoe basin?

John Cochrane

Sergio (and a few like him) would enter Spooner Pass with sufficient altitude to take one pass at the Elevator, then exit if it did not work. Even in the best circumstance, this is a very risky move. Most of us Truckee regulars believe that if you are low enough to feel any ridge lift there, you are WAY TOO LOW. A retrieve from Carson is very inexpensive compared to even slight damage to a glider, let alone a funeral (and attempts at the Elevator have resulted in both). Ramy found an empty fairway, but even checking it with a crosswind pass does not guarantee that some duffer won't wander back out on your final, having retrieved his slice from the woods.