Contest Safety

I don't get it: Why on earth do so many people pull up and do a
circuit? There must be a difference in the US and the IGC definition of
the finish gate/line. Can someone explain? Why is it not normal (at
least judging from what I read here it isn't in the US) to land
straight in after the finishline?
In a paper by John Cochrane (Safer Finishes) there's a list of
accidents. More than half of them have nothing to do with the finishing
procedure. They could have happened just the same with any other
procedure, some even without a contest, some did'nt even happen at the
airfield. All the others (6) are the pullup-stall-spin type. So again:
why pull up?

After flying dozens of finishes at international comps and many more in
various versions at national and regional comps I am absolutely
convinced that a finishline at ground level at the beginning of the
runway and then landing straight ahead is the safest method, especially
when many competitors arrive at the same time. I'd hate to be in a
situation with ten or more gliders all on circuit at the same time not
knowing who's going to turn when and where because everybody has his
own idea of where the pattern is.

Marcel

Because it's fun.
If you don't like it, or are likely to spin in after the pull-up, just don't
do it. Even with a finish line, nothing prevents you from landing straight
in.

--
Bert Willing

ASW20 "TW"


"MaD" a écrit dans le message de news:
...
I don't get it: Why on earth do so many people pull up and do a
circuit?

MaD wrote:

I don't get it: Why on earth do so many people pull up and do a
circuit?

Because it's faster than a straight in. Ever tried to land on a short
runway after having arrived at the runway threshold with Vne and a full
load of water? That said, at the competitions I know, there is mostly a
minimal height at which the finish line must be crossed if you don't
land straight in.

Stefan

Sorry to disagree here. It is normally not faster. If it turns out to
be, it means you seriously misjudged your final glide or the last
thermal was something like 4m/s AND the runway is extremely short.
And yes, at most contests I've flown so far it was possible to land
straight ahead arriving with close to Vne at the beginning of the
runway. As mentioned, that speed is not the one you should try to have
at that point.

Regards
Marcel Duenner

Sorry to disagree here. It is normally not faster. If it turns out to
be, it means you seriously misjudged your final glide or the last
thermal was something like 4m/s AND the runway is extremely short.
And yes, at most contests I've flown so far it was possible to land
straight ahead arriving with close to Vne at the beginning of the
runway. As mentioned, that speed is not the one you should try to have
at that point.

Regards
Marcel Duenner

MaD wrote:
Sorry to disagree here. It is normally not faster. If it turns out to
be, it means you seriously misjudged your final glide

I often do misjudge my final glide, as do many of the other pilots in
the US contests I've flown in. Sometimes it is due to lift along the way
that I didn't predict. At some airports, it is not possible to land
safely within several miles of the airport. Finishers tend to be high
until they are certain they can cross this bad area, then speed up.

or the last
thermal was something like 4m/s

Yes, we have these also.

AND the runway is extremely short.

Our Regional contests are held at Ephrata (Washington State). Is 3000'
extremely short? It is very wide, and easy to land normally on, but not
when arriving at Vne.

And yes, at most contests I've flown so far it was possible to land
straight ahead arriving with close to Vne at the beginning of the
runway.

At some contest airports I've flown at, this is also possible. Usually,
the glider must then be pushed off the runway, and the pilot must wait
an hour or more until there are no more gliders finishing before the
glider can be pushed back down the runway to the tiedown area. If it is
a wide grass field instead of narrow paved runway, it would be possible
to retrieve the glider right away, but that is rarely the case.

As mentioned, that speed is not the one you should try to have
at that point.

Western US conditions often mean the final glide is flown very fast.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

Eric Greenwell schrieb:

...
or the last
thermal was something like 4m/s

Yes, we have these also.

AND the runway is extremely short.

Our Regional contests are held at Ephrata (Washington State). Is 3000'
extremely short? It is very wide, and easy to land normally on, but not
when arriving at Vne.


No, here in central Europe 3000' considered long. Few airfields are
that long. Our Airfield actually does have a bit over 3000' of grass
rwy but is no more than 250' wide at the widest point, only about 190'
at the narrowest. Swiss Nationals 1996: I think it was 28 gliders
landing within just over three minutes. No problem, because evrybody
behaved and rolled out to the side. But I can see the problem with
paved runways from which you don't want to roll off without knowing
exactly you won't damage the glider.

On 12 Aug 2005 04:16:57 -0700, "MaD" wrote:

Why is it not normal ...to land
straight in after the finishline?

Can someone explain?

Yes.

Many US contests are held at airports, not airfields. In many cases,
the only safe place to land is the runway.

The straight in finish you describe is safe as long as the area
between the finish line and the stopping point is landable, with
plenty of width available for simultaneous finishers.

All contest sites should be round grass fields of 1-mile radius.

-Pat

As we see, there are many possibilities and variations on finishes.

If you set a minimun finish altitude on a finish cylinder, you can do the
same for the finish line. No difference there.

It is good to have the line/cylinder so that you can finish and land
directly. But if there are no trees etc. before the airfield, you still have
the low high energy finishes. They just open the airbrakes in high speed
just after the finishline and land straight. So it can still be quite
dangerous.
The finish line should be before the airfield and you should have there a
minumum altitude limit. Or ?

Soaring is not a spectator sport, but we all go out to see the finishes. But
there is not much to see, if the gliders come in slowly and land straight.
Okay, you still have some drama in it, if you know the start times so you
can see who has flown fastest.

-But if there are no trees etc. before the airfield, you still have
the low high energy finishes. They just open the airbrakes in high
speed
just after the finishline and land straight. So it can still be quite
dangerous.
---

And what exactly is dangerous about that?