Sacrificial layer for gear-up protection.

From where I fly:
- glider w/ gear up turning into final / on long final: Be nice and give him a radio call
- glider (still?) w/ gear up on short final: Leave him alone. Make sure that the beer is in the cooler.

Biggest damage will be the one to the driver's ego.
Someone who is too distracted to prepare for landing will most probably fail to react to a buzzer or other onboard alarms, so I don't see the point of these gadgets.
And somebody who just forgot to do the check - well, he won't next time.

The best idea I came across some years ago was at a flight school that trained in both fixed gear and retractable single-engine. The fixed-gear planes had a panel switch labeled "gear" with a red and green light. Gear down and locked was taught on every single flight in all their ships and became part of "muscle memory".

Mike

On Monday, May 18, 2015 at 2:41:06 AM UTC-4, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:

I've always presumed that real aviators can fly their aircraft and listen to the radio at the same time.

Fly with the pilots that you have, not the pilots that you would like to have. The notable number of fatal accidents attributed to pilot panic and/or misstep triggered by a panicky radio call is evidence that radio calls on short final (and takeoff) are rather risky. Some of those accidents involved very seasoned pilots.

You'll never know which pilot will be distracted until it happens. It might be a low hours pilot, or it might be a high hours pilot that is tired or past his prime (or both). That the gear is up or the tail dolly left on in the first place is a clear indication of pilot brain fart, and one brain fart flags the risk of an adverse reaction to a radio call.

The BGA rule against this sort of radio call is an interesting counter balance to the consensus of RAS pundits in favor of short final/takeoff radio calls.

A pilot who is not sure how he would react has the option of turning off his radio at some point.

Also a pilot that does not have the skills to address the emergency at low altitude has the option of just landing gear up. I am of the belief knowledge is good, what you do with it is TOTALLY up to you.

On Monday, May 18, 2015 at 12:58:45 PM UTC-7, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
Also a pilot that does not have the skills to address the emergency at low altitude has the option of just landing gear up. I am of the belief knowledge is good, what you do with it is TOTALLY up to you.

The pilot also has to realize that he doesn't have the skills to handle the situation and ignore the radio call, something that may not be obvious on short final after after a 5+ hour flight, possibly while suffering from dehydration, mild hypoxia, hunger, and/or needing to pee. I'm always surprised at the number of pilots in these threads that have apparently never made a single mistake in their flying careers, I wish I was that perfect...

What's the big deal ?

Two words: Cost and down time. (Well... Three words).

On 5/16/2015 10:15 PM, wrote:
I have always wondered, why do people get so worked up about gear up landings in a glider ?

Has anyone ever been killed or seriously injured because of a gear up landing in a glider ?

I have seen several gear up landings and none of them caused any injury and only minor damage.

What's the big deal ?

Todd Smith
3S

--
Dan Marotta

I too find it hard to believe that a radio call could so rattle a pilot that he loses control. In flying gliders on three continents, I have always maintained radio contact with both the field and traffic as essential to safety.

Most pilots at my local club also call out that their gear is deployed on their downwind leg. I was never trained to do that, so frequently get asked to check my gear. I have screwed up a few landings over the years, but so far have avoided a gear-up.

Mike

So it's only a material danger, that's my point.

People get so worked up over it, like it's a safety issue. So much so that they create real safety issues, where people get hurt reacting to radio calls on landing, or last minute lowering the gear.

Todd

On Sunday, May 17, 2015 at 11:38:17 AM UTC-4, Dan Marotta wrote:
What's the big deal ?
Two words:* Cost and down time.* (Well...* Three words).




On 5/16/2015 10:15 PM,
wrote:



I have always wondered, why do people get so worked up about gear up landings in a glider ?

Has anyone ever been killed or seriously injured because of a gear up landing in a glider ?

I have seen several gear up landings and none of them caused any injury and only minor damage.

What's the big deal ?

Todd Smith
3S

--

Dan Marotta