Glider pilot rolls inverted and exits at 1400 feet AGL

http://news.stv.tv/tayside/282807-pi...de-in-mid-air/

On Sunday, July 27, 2014 7:14:48 PM UTC-4, son_of_flubber wrote:
http://news.stv.tv/tayside/282807-pi...de-in-mid-air/

My first take on the story was that control was lost after the collision and that he just happened to be inverted when he exited. Based on the numbers given he lost 600 feet after the collision.

Do aerobatic-versed pilots plan this inverted exit strategy in advance? It seems rather fast and efficient.

If g forces loaded you up, exiting a deep cockpit would be a challenge. Rolling inverted would not necessarily unload the aircraft and allow you to fall out.
Could be a mad scramble...

Mark

On Monday, July 28, 2014 10:22:42 AM UTC-5, son_of_flubber wrote:

Do aerobatic-versed pilots plan this inverted exit strategy in advance? It seems rather fast and efficient.

No. If you have enough control to roll inverted, you can probably land the glider.

After a midair, who knows what the plane will do.

And taking the time to roll upside down (real slooowww in a glider) is a poor choice most of the time, when all you have to do is undo your straps and slam the stick forward - if you get more than 1 negative G that's the same as falling out from an upside down cockpit.

But practically, after a midair your glider will probably either be spinning (loss of most a a wing?) or diving steeply (loss of tail controls) so the trick is to get out any way you can RIGHT NOW and not go for style points.

The "roll upside down and drop out" comes from situations in planes where you still had control but had to get out - like a fire, or out of fuel over unlandable terrain. Common advice in WW2 fighter manuals.

Of course, if you are upside down as a result of a midair, I sure wouldn't try to roll rightside up before getting out!


Kirk
66

Pushing the stick hard forward (assuming you still have some control) is one of the best advice I heard for exiting the cockpit. Probably something to add to mental bailout practices, as it may not be intuitive during bail out. Thanks Kirk for that advice.

Ramy

On Monday, July 28, 2014 8:55:12 PM UTC-7, Ramy wrote:
Pushing the stick hard forward (assuming you still have some control) is one of the best advice I heard for exiting the cockpit. Probably something to add to mental bailout practices, as it may not be intuitive during bail out. Thanks Kirk for that advice.



Ramy

I agree. I've never heard that advise before and it makes darn good sense. I've been doing 40 dips, 3 times a week to make sure that I have a fighting chance to get out of the cockpit. Pushing the stick forward sounds a heck of a lot easier than all those damn dips that I do.

Assuming the tail is still connected!
It's possible to land inverted (too many Gs to bail out) and fly many national records afterwards.
Jim

wouldn't your glider pitch up and whack you after you released the stick?

On Tue, 29 Jul 2014 00:40:36 -0700, cat.jardini wrote:

wouldn't your glider pitch up and whack you after you released the
stick?

Not necessarily. IIRC there was a case in Australia some years back when
a Std Cirrus bunted violently from level flight, throwing the pilot out
through the canopy. He parachuted down while the glider flew, inverted,
in circles round him all the way down and eventually landed some 10-20
metres away.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

On Tuesday, July 29, 2014 2:40:36 AM UTC-5, wrote:
wouldn't your glider pitch up and whack you after you released the stick?

Unlikely - it will just return to 1 g or so, not rebound. Bigger problem is hitting the tail - although your relative speed difference will still be pretty low. Good idea to protect your head or wear a helmet (depending on who you thermal with!).

A pointed TE probe might hurt, though!

Like I said earlier - this was a common practice in pre-ejection seat fighters - there is even some good gun-camera footage showing German pilots "popping" out of their cockpits while being shot down by P-51s or P-47s; the only way that could happen is either a good shove on the stick, or (if you have time) by running in full forward trim while holding back the stick then letting go. You see the pilot move away from his plane, not slamming back into the tail. And the negative G only lasts for a second or so, not really long enough to change the plane's flight path.

So a childhood reading all the books I could find about fighter planes turned out to be kinda useful...

Kirk