SSA Calendar October, 2008

At 03:04 01 October 2008, Bob Whelan wrote:
The caption reads, "Here a competitor comes in for a smooth
landing."
But just how smooth will this touchdown be? I see gear-up in
progress, but my eyes have failed me before.

What am I missing?

:-)




PS. As one who has suffered a gear collapse (failed to ensure gear was
locked), where do I fall on the' those who have and those who will'
scale?

My experience is Damnation via Perception rules!!!

There I wuz, both wheels planted on a hard surface runway, rolling for
every foot toward a distant trailer, when - and I am not making this up!

- the gear collapsed. (No, really!!!)

Cockpit air perfumed with the scent of molten fiberglass, I skud to a
halt, wings-level, a death grip on the wheel brake. Desirous of
clearing the runway ASAP, I begin walking the 1500 feet or so to the
nearest group of glider types I can see, near my club's hut. Like the
salt fanatic gal in the Bible, I couldn't help but look back once at my

forlorn glider, wondering what had failed. Well before reaching my
(once upon a time, caring and considerate) compadres, the humor of the
developing situation dawned...

What glider pilot of the human race is going to believe what you tell
them about that scenario...that none of them saw happen?!?

So call me an optimist. "Hey guys, I need some strong backs to help me

clear the runway; my gear failed on rollout."

Vaguely polite disbelief...at many levels.

Years later, there I wuz at a glider camp when the gear-up topic arose.
I couldn't help myself; I had to tell my gear up story. (Hey! *I*
think it's funny.)

I finish my story and we all begin laughing for our various reasons. A
fellow club-member eventually manages to regain his composure and sez,
"Hey! I was one of those guys that helped you!!!"

"Really?!? I'd forgotten that. Thanks again!" Then I couldn't help

myself. "You didn't believe me then, did you?"

"Heck no!" Pause... Of COURSE not!!!"

More laughter.

"What about now?"
- - - - - -

No reputations have been harmed in the telling of this True Story.

Everyone can guess his reply.

Thanks for the memories!
Bob - tarred by a tired gas spring - W.


OK. So I returned to the airport in a rented glider with an unfamiliar
gear handle on the wrong side of the cockpit, I put the gear down kinda
high and early to be sure that I wouldn't forget ( I was still aboved
pattern height), found a thermal, worked up some altitude, raised the gear
again, and flew away. I did this three times.

Somewhere in all this, I forgot to raise the gear and so, being cautious
(I thought), I continued operating the gear early and high in order to be
sure. Problem was, I was working it backward. On the third episode (if
not the second one also) I flew around with the gear down and raised it to
land on a concrete runway. It was the smoothest landing I ever made; my
first impression was that the weight had not settled and the scraping
noise I heard was (I thought) the bearings turning over in the wheels and
I was congratulating myself how slick this was.

I measured the chalk stripe left on the runway. Repairs cost $100 per
foot! I now look at the icon to see whether the handle is in the right
place.