Thoughts on crash/article in Soaring?

I do commend him for writing the article. I do not commend the main
message he gives.

1.) Conservative is not necessarily safe. Maybe not, but his high
drag approach is not conservative.

2.) His training was deficient. Maybe so, but not because they did
not give him all the possible unusual positional situations in which to
execute a landing.

Hey, I apologize if I was too harsh. I just could not fathom why
someone could not land on a 6,000 ft. runway in a perfectly functioning
sailplane...



jb92563 wrote:
I just dont see how anyone who is an accomplished secure in his skills
pilot, presumably, feels it necessary to further humilate and
unfortunate soul who has made a mistake.

C'mon folks, when your used to flying out of an airport with a 6000'
runway its quite possible that you might become used to "easy" landings
and forget the things that you were taught......practice is
important......anyone practice spin recoveries in the US lately?.

I'm sure there are people flying that do not know their left from their
right under certain circumstances........remember your flight training
days??? Yes...I know you did it to!!!!

Lighten up.....at least this man admits his mistake publicly and was
brave enough to allow unbridled criticism in an effort to learn
something......and he almost did quit soaring!!!!!!....and by now he
has most certainly become a better pilot because of his learning.

I hear even doctors make mistakes despite 8+ years of intensive
training.

My 2 cents

Ray

This really sounds like a back handed apology to me.

MS wrote:
Hey, I apologize if I was too harsh. I just could not fathom why
someone could not land on a 6,000 ft. runway in a perfectly functioning
sailplane...


MS is obviously enormously skilled, and blessed with good fortune. One
of the things I've learned in 26 years of aviation and flight testing
is this: It CAN happen to me. For a completely different form of
flying (power, taildragger), a fellow pilot wasn't making the grade. I
tried talking to him to try and make peace between the parties (I was
not the instructor nor the grading person). As I told him I care as a
friend, and didn't want him hurt or wrapping an airplane up in a ball,
he replied: "...I won't happen to me...I'm TOO safe." At that moment,
I knew I'd NEVER get in an airplane with him again.

MS, If I'm about to get in an airplane with you, please identify
yourself, so I can avoid jinxing your run of good luck.

Contrary to popular belief, Flight Test Pilots (and crews) aren't the
"cowboys" the movies make them out to be. The experienced ones have
seen comrades die, despite excellent skill, preparation and equipment.
They know IT CAN HAPPEN TO ME. Yes MS, you too may one day find it
difficult to land a glider on a 6,000 foot runway, especially when you
consider your initial aim point was about halfway down that 6,000 feet.
I know, trust, respect and admire Jim Skydell. He is a humble person,
and his service to soaring did not stop at being a pilot, director,
contributor: the man bore his soul to try and help others avoid
similar pain. You owe him much more than just an apology (a sincere
apology, with no strings, judgement or "attitude"). I would ride with
Jim any day of the week, month or year.

Flight Test Crews know IT CAN HAPPEN TO ME, so when we do a risky test
(e.g., finding the edge of the envelope -- the first stall, the maximum
speed, maximum landing performance measurement), we study the
information from all those accidents that preceded us, try to learn the
pitfalls, factors, and things that could have prevented an accident (or
fatality). For example, the camera van, parked well off the side of
the runway, still was hit by the Lear Jet conducting landing
testing...I believe it blew a tire, went off the runway and found the
van... It's usually not one single thing, as they say.

Yeah, Flight Test is risky (some say soaring is...every landing is an
emergency landing?). So the flight test type is not a cowboy...he
tries to stack the deck in his favor, e.g., flying with wind limits
less than five knots (not practical for everyday soaring). And
wherever possible, flight testers rehearse what it looks like good, and
what it looks like bad (when things go wrong). Review what to do when
something doesn't work right (e.g., hard landing, the beginning of
flutter, a stall departure that may seem uncontrollable). So practice
more than one form of landing (including the high parasite
nibble/infestation approach).

One of the test pilots I admired most, one of the safest, kindest, most
knowledgable and experienced people I've had the privilege of working
with, was killed last year in a Decathalon accident. It CAN happen to
ME, and at his memorial service, 400 people from across the U.S. were
feeling the same thing: if it can happen to him, it can happen to me.
And I think in a subtle way, Jim Skydell is trying to change the
thinking of the average glider pilot. Thank you, Jim.

But maybe MS lives by the other aviation adage: "Any pilot who doesn't
think he's the best in the business is in the wrong business." Which
would mean _I_ am in the wrong business.

DEAL with it. I'm here to stay. And I'm very proud to fly in the same
skies as Skydell.

-Pete
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