Fatal crash Arizona

On Friday, May 9, 2014 4:59:59 PM UTC-7, Don Johnstone wrote:
At 16:33 09 May 2014, Chris Rollings wrote:

At 14:42 09 May 2014, Tom wrote:
must wonder why most simply go out of their way to
avoid the simple educational process which will allow safe flight.

Tom Knauff


Not for the first time, I find myself in complete agreement with you Tom.

Chris Rollings



Me too

Me three. That makes it unanimous. Both sides of the pond, and both coasts.
If we count Dean Carswell, that's both sides of the here and after.

Cindy B

On Saturday, May 3, 2014 9:27:10 PM UTC-7, Waveguru wrote:
Premature termination of the tow at 100ft. Did not complete the turn back to the runway.



http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2014/0...izona.html?m=1



Boggs

On Saturday, May 3, 2014 9:27:10 PM UTC-7, Waveguru wrote:
Premature termination of the tow at 100ft. Did not complete the turn back to the runway.



http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2014/0...izona.html?m=1



Boggs

Should change thread name to "PDS" premature dispensing of speculation

What's wrong, too many interesting facts for you?

Instead of whining, add something!

Kirk
66

I dunno. I might be wary of a 180 at skosh altitude if the air was turbulent, ie a thermal off the end of the runway. That puts the variable of airspeed potentially outside my control.

On Tuesday, May 20, 2014 2:11:23 PM UTC-6, wrote:
I dunno. I might be wary of a 180 at skosh altitude if the air was turbulent, ie a thermal off the end of the runway. That puts the variable of airspeed potentially outside my control.

Presumably, you, like most pilots, do steep turns in turbulent thermals every flight while keeping the airspeed within a narrow, safe margin.

BTW, define "skosh altitude" precisely.

Bill

I have had the experience while banked 45 deg in mountain thermal of having the glider stop flying and start falling in a split second. IE, the dirt came up of the floor and was pinned to the canopy.

Under those circumstances, I would define skosh altitude as anything less than enough to recover from a deep stall or early spin with enough reserve height then to direct the aircraft in a desirable direction.

Very sharp shear is possble at the borders of strong thermals. I don't think a steep bank would necessarily be as perfect a safeguard against a turbulent airflow as I would hope. Airflow across one wing could be erased in an instant under the wrong circumstances.

Mark

On Thursday, May 22, 2014 2:45:59 PM UTC-6, wrote:
Bill



I have had the experience while banked 45 deg in mountain thermal of having the glider stop flying and start falling in a split second. IE, the dirt came up of the floor and was pinned to the canopy.

So have I - many times - but the glider never got close to a stall. A typical Rocky Mountain flight will leave the tell-tales on the G-Meter at +2 and -1.



Very sharp shear is possble at the borders of strong thermals. I don't think a steep bank would necessarily be as perfect a safeguard against a turbulent airflow as I would hope. Airflow across one wing could be erased in an instant under the wrong circumstances.

No one said a steep bank was a "perfect safeguard" against "turbulent airflow". It does increase the stall margin - even in "sharp shear".

On Thursday, May 22, 2014 4:23:32 PM UTC-6, Bill D wrote:
On Thursday, May 22, 2014 2:45:59 PM UTC-6, wrote:

Bill







I have had the experience while banked 45 deg in mountain thermal of having the glider stop flying and start falling in a split second. IE, the dirt came up of the floor and was pinned to the canopy.



So have I - many times - but the glider never got close to a stall. A typical Rocky Mountain flight will leave the tell-tales on the G-Meter at +2 and -1.







Very sharp shear is possble at the borders of strong thermals. I don't think a steep bank would necessarily be as perfect a safeguard against a turbulent airflow as I would hope. Airflow across one wing could be erased in an instant under the wrong circumstances.



No one said a steep bank was a "perfect safeguard" against "turbulent airflow". It does increase the stall margin - even in "sharp shear".

s

On Saturday, May 3, 2014 at 10:27:10 PM UTC-6, Waveguru wrote:
Premature termination of the tow at 100ft. Did not complete the turn back to the runway.

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2014/0...izona.html?m=1

Boggs

A really scary comment in the NTSB final report: "Postaccident examination of the glider's release system revealed that it was missing a spring, which likely resulted in the cable not engaging in the detent and caused the premature release from the tow line." http://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.av...04X34426&key=1

It was a bumpy day. I took off about 10 minutes of Bob and hit strong turbulence and sink over the last few hundred yards of the runway. My 200 foot countdown took much longer than usual, but, as I continued on tow, finally got up and found a good thermal and left the area, unaware of the crash that had occurred behind me.

Bob was a very experienced jet pilot with thousands of hours, but had just gotten into gliding and had only recently purchased the glider. Having his glider release itself because of a faulty release mechanism in turbulence only 100 ft. AGL and only desert trees ahead, our newbe pilot made the unfortunate fatal decision to turn back and spun in.

When was the last time YOU had your release checked by a professional???