Open Discussion; Creating XC pilots

On Sunday, December 21, 2014 12:16:00 PM UTC-7, wrote:
I am currently working on an article regarding gliding safety. Not sure when it may be posted - probably on our web site (www.eglider.org) our Facebook page, perhaps Soaring magazine, or Gliding International magazine.

The article uses data garnished from the NTSB accident reports. This data is not always correct, but one can use it to gain useful statistics.

I reduced the official NTSB reports in a new book, "Glider Accident Reports," ($14.95) to useable, readable size, which clearly indicates where the major problems are and hints at what can and should be done in attempts to reduce the accident statistics. You can order from our web site, www.eglider.org.

Landings are clearly the major problem regarding gliding safety. During the recent 11 year period there were about 500 accidents serious enough to be reported to the NTSB.

Of these, 167 occurred during airport landings, and 99 off field landings..

As we observe typical, low stress on-airport landings, it is clear glider pilots often perform what can be called undisciplined, incorrect landing patterns. Under the stress of an upcoming off-airport landing, flight logs show the discipline is very often extremely bad.

Over the years, many articles have been written in gliding publications. There are some controversial suggestions made, and even more being used in flight training.

Despite attempts by different Pilots, CFIs clubs and organizations, the landing phase of flight training discipline's varies widely.

As a sidebar, some years ago, there was an international gathering of notable CFI's from around the world held in Sweden. The most significant finding was how little differences there were among those notables regarding all phases of flight.

Tom Knauff

I agree landings are the main problem. One improves those stats the same way one gets to Carnegie Hall - practice, practice, practice.

Unfortunately, landing practice using aero tow is expensive so many skimp on landings. Scott Manley will propose the use of simulators for landing practice and he's absolutely correct. I would suggest complementing simulator landings with winch launch where one can buy as many as 10 real landings for the price of one pattern tow.

When a pilot becomes truly proficient and confident in their landing skills, XC looks a lot less intimidating.

I suspect one of the main problems with landings away from the home field is that many pilots won't give up looking for lift at an altitude where a proper disciplined approach is possible and end up making a rushed approach with poor speed control and turns at low altitude. I know I'm guilty of this!

Mike

Just like we see everyday at the gliderport while pilots are performing "normal" landings.

Tom

On Sunday, December 21, 2014 5:42:38 PM UTC-5, wrote:
Just like we see everyday at the gliderport while pilots are performing "normal" landings.

Tom


It takes a lot of practice to pull off a crappy landing in a small field. Glad those guys are putting in the time at the airport!

-Evan Ludeman / T8

On 12/21/2014 3:02 PM, Mike the Strike wrote:
I suspect one of the main problems with landings away from the home field
is that many pilots won't give up looking for lift at an altitude where a
proper disciplined approach is possible and end up making a rushed approach
with poor speed control and turns at low altitude. I know I'm guilty of
this!

Mike


I doff my cap in your direction for having the spine to publicly admit to
occasional lack of pre-planned off-field-landing pattern discipline (from
someone relatively well-known in the SW US contest scene, no less!); maybe
doing so will motivate someone fairly new on the XC learning curve to re-think
their current - and possibly misguided - XC outlanding plan. (I suspect that
most of the honest among us will mentally admit to being able to benefit from
an unblinking rethink...)

Perhaps I was more cowardly than many fresh out of college, my age upon
discovering soaring, but the thought of making an off-field landing was
genuinely intimidating to me at the relatively immortal age of 22. I may have
then felt mySELF immortal (can't remember, ha ha!)...but definitely not the
glider!

And not that I was looking for any, but I never found reason to dispute the
knowledge my officemate (Wil Schuemann) and my instructor sought to impart, a
fundamental part of it being that an off-field pattern should be no different
than one to one's departure airport, and if anything it should be better, more
precise, and as "spotworthy" as any dead-day airfield spot landing contest's
winner's. In their views, the only difference in an OFL would (and should)
have been the pre-pattern-entry-height field assessment...and they both
emphasized that pattern entry height should be identical to a routine one
entered at the home field.

All that insight was imparted to me in '72/'73. Since then I've seen, learned
of and read about (WAY too many) reasons NOT to dispute their wisdom and
advice. The worst cases have involved serious pilot injury and death;
definitely no fun to be had on those kind of retrieve adventures.

My observational experience includes only two kinds of broken-in-OFL
sailplanes: 1) poor surface/approach/obstruction/etc. field choice and 2)
lousy (usually, close-in, too fast, too high/overshot) pattern. Sometimes 1) &
2) were combined.

When it comes to glider landing patterns - OFL or on-airport - it definitely
pays to have a plan and to fly it. My best patterns have been when I carried
on a running conversation in my head about how - and why - the pattern was
going, while some memorably mediocre (being kind to myself) ones were flown by
rote.

YMMV,
Bob W.