Thoughts on crash/article in Soaring?

I have now had the opportunity to read the articles
that started this thread as Jim Skydell kindly sent
them to me. I do not intend to comment on the specifics
of his accident other than to point out that the comment
concerning a 6000 ft runway was in error. In effect
we are talking about 2 x 3000 ft runways.
Having read the articles I asked myself two questions

1 Could it happen to me?
2 Have I learned from it?
Despite my 10000 launches and 1300 hrs the answer to
both questions is a resounding yes.
I think the whole point of the articles has been missed
by some as Jim obviously knows the mistakes he made
and has chosen to share his human fallibility with
the rest of the gliding community. It is unfortunate
that some have taken the opportunity to ridicule him
because of this. He is to be congratulated for a courageous
and bold decision, not sniped at because some people
think he should have known better. The people who have
sniped at him are the very people who are likely to
make the same mistake. The articles also highlight
possible deficiencies in teaching and supervision and
it is right that these should be addressed. I would
urge everyone to read the articles carefully.
Looking back I have allowed my irritation with those
who have made unwarranted personal attacks to lead
me to do the very same thing, for that I apologise.
I stand by my assertion that if you think you could
not make a mistake you should not be flying.
I mean no disrespect when I say that living in the
UK I had never heard of Jim before this thread started
let alone met him. I thank him for his frank admissions
and for the opportunity to learn. Jim was lucky, he
was able to write about his experience. Reading his
articles might just save YOUR life one day.

DAJ
ASW17 401

Well said, Don.

Don Johnstone wrote:
Having read the articles I asked myself two questions
1 Could it happen to me?
2 Have I learned from it?
Despite my 10000 launches and 1300 hrs the answer to
both questions is a resounding yes.
snip

The accident investigation files are filled with cases where bad things
have happened to otherwise good pilots.

The articles also highlight
possible deficiencies in teaching and supervision and
it is right that these should be addressed. I would
urge everyone to read the articles carefully.

The entire thread contains many assertions and inferences that do not
appear to have really come from the articles -- I re-read them both
twice to assure myself that I had not missed anything. For example, I
did not detect he'd "blamed his training" for the accident. He did
point out that his initial training 30 years ago was only to the
minimum required to "pass," but not sufficient for the type of soaring
Jim would ultimately choose to enjoy. Who among us were a soaring
"black belt" when we endeavored on our first solo? Our first
check-ride? Our first cross country? Our first diamond? With two
diamonds in a 1-26, I know I have not yet "mastered" soaring, and I
keep the phrase "it could happen to me" in the forefront to help me
keep my guard up.

Jim pointed out that he sought more extensive training prior to flying
high performance gliders. So you've got a freshly minted mult-engine
pilots' license -- do you really think the insurance company will let
you immediately jump into the left seat of a 747? Training is life
long. We should know better and remember that what we carry are
licenses to learn. My glider ticket is dated more than 10 years ago,
and I still seek instruction, and know that there are things I'm not
(yet) qualified to do with an aircraft.

Jim was lucky, he
was able to write about his experience. Reading his
articles might just save YOUR life one day.


What I also commend Jim for showing is that he has not given up the
sport. He continues to volunteer his time and efforts to improve our
sport. In a very public way, he's shared private thoughts, experiences
and pains, and provided excellent examples of how we can return to the
cockpit if it does happen to us. He really showed us how to "get back
in the saddle," something I don't recall in ANY of my training, power,
glider, engineering...

Again, thank you Jim. Thank you Don. And thank you RAS.