SSA Calendar October, 2008

Mine was - off launch on a winch. At my first contest. All the big boys watching.
Pull gear lever back, but it won't lock for some reason. Try a couple of times.

Third try the handle comes free in my hand - metal fatigue on the weld had caused it to bend, so the handle did not go
far enough to latch over centre. Two more solid tugs were then enough to snap it almost off.

Push rod forward as far as it will go with broken handle and try to wedge/lock it. Land as gently as possible on
greenest, softest piece of runway available. Roll for maybe 5m then plop onto the belly at the first real bump as the
last little bit of weld fails.

No damage to belly, but I certainly provided entertainment.

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?

:-)

Snipperoo...
Snip x2

Nearly 20 years ago at New Castle. First contest after being out of
flying for a few years with my LS-3 that had been in the trailer
during that time. Finish the task on a cold day. Perfect landing right
in front of the finish line. Gear folds up neatly. Well-meaning finish
gate operator gets on the radio: "JB just landed gear up. We need some
help to get him off the runway!" I look over at the gear lever. I'm
flustered so I agree; must have forgotten to put the gear down.

Helpers arrive. John Murray directs crew to kneel under the wing roots
and push up. "Put the gear down!" he orders. I move the lever in the
other direction. "No, put it DOWN!" That's when I finally realized it
had been down all along. Try telling that to anyone who had heard the
radio broadcast, however.

Cold weather weakens the gas spring and also stiffens the damper strut
in the LS-1f/3/4/6. So if there's any dirt in the gear strut pivots,
the main "knee" strut may not quite go over center when it's cold. And
all it takes is a little bump and the weight of the glider and the
gear folds up neatly, leaving the actuating handle (which is connected
to the gear with the gas spring, not a solid link) in the down
position. Happened to me twice, both times on grass, fortunately.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
USA

On Oct 2, 1:16*pm, wrote:
Nearly 20 years ago at New Castle. First contest after being out of
flying for a few years with my LS-3 that had been in the trailer
during that time. Finish the task on a cold day. Perfect landing right
in front of the finish line. Gear folds up neatly. Well-meaning finish
gate operator gets on the radio: "JB just landed gear up. We need some
help to get him off the runway!" I look over at the gear lever. I'm
flustered so I agree; must have forgotten to put the gear down.

Helpers arrive. John Murray directs crew to kneel under the wing roots
and push up. "Put the gear down!" he orders. I move the lever in the
other direction. "No, put it DOWN!" That's when I finally realized it
had been down all along. Try telling that to anyone who had heard the
radio broadcast, however.

Cold weather weakens the gas spring and also stiffens the damper strut
in the LS-1f/3/4/6. So if there's any dirt in the gear strut pivots,
the main "knee" strut may not quite go over center when it's cold. And
all it takes is a little bump and the weight of the glider and the
gear folds up neatly, leaving the actuating handle (which is connected
to the gear with the gas spring, not a solid link) in the down
position. Happened to me twice, both times on grass, fortunately.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
USA

Mine was the day after Christmas 1977 in an LS-3 landing after a
flight in light wave. The gear collapsed right after touchdown. I had
enough speed to pull up and cycle the gear but in the process ended up
slow enough to touch down tailwheel first and slap the fuselage onto
the (thankfully grass) runway. Needless to say with a cold-soaked gas
spring cycling the gear did no good at all. Finding the gear doors
waaay down by the first touchdown point was the only thing to save my
reputation (and ego).

9B