Glider Down - Soaring Mag Feb 2015

The 'Glider Down' article in this month's soaring magazine was great. I hope that the new editor Eric Bick makes this sort of article routine.

On 2/4/2015 3:05 PM, son_of_flubber wrote:
The 'Glider Down' article in this month's soaring magazine was great. I
hope that the new editor Eric Bick makes this sort of article routine.


Second! On both fronts.

And Serious Kudos to Jay Campbell for having the mindset to share his accident
with the rest of the U.S. soaring community. I hope he sees fit to learn every
lesson he can draw from the unhappy experience, and opts to continue with the
sport.

Bob W.

Great new look to the mag, but the Libelle article missed the most significant achievement of the old girl. Ray Gimmey won the 1972 open Nationals flying a Libelle!
I too believe we should be reviewing our accidents as George Theylen did in Soaring for many years.
JJ

On Thursday, February 5, 2015 at 6:48:57 AM UTC-8, JJ Sinclair wrote:
Great new look to the mag, but the Libelle article missed the most significant achievement of the old girl. Ray Gimmey won the 1972 open Nationals flying a Libelle!
I too believe we should be reviewing our accidents as George Theylen did in Soaring for many years.
JJ

There were a bunch of Libelle H301s flying in the '72 nationals. Mine, flown by my father Jack Bamberg, took 3rd.

Mike

On Wednesday, February 4, 2015 at 2:05:25 PM UTC-8, son_of_flubber wrote:
The 'Glider Down' article in this month's soaring magazine was great. I hope that the new editor Eric Bick makes this sort of article routine.

I also commend Jay for sharing his unfortunate wave experience and turning it into an excellent Teaching Moment.

I've known of more than a couple of incidents involving inadvertent opening of spoilers that were not caught by the pilot and led to an accident or nearly so.

I was taught (by a German instructor) always to visually check spoilers when deploying them and again to check they were closed, something I have always done. I also only deploy spoilers when within safe distance of the field and almost never while flying cross-country. I remember a colleague who outlanded when he deployed his spoiler and the handle broke off, leaving them fully open!

Mike

On Thursday, February 5, 2015 at 8:33:52 PM UTC-7, Mike the Strike wrote:
I've known of more than a couple of incidents involving inadvertent opening of spoilers that were not caught by the pilot and led to an accident or nearly so.

I was taught (by a German instructor) always to visually check spoilers when deploying them and again to check they were closed, something I have always done. I also only deploy spoilers when within safe distance of the field and almost never while flying cross-country. I remember a colleague who outlanded when he deployed his spoiler and the handle broke off, leaving them fully open!

Mike

As long as we are discussion solutions to unintended open spoilers, why not adopt the airplane solution in the form of an annunciator panel on the glare-shield consisting of LED lights? A big red one would indicate unlocked open spoilers and a small green one indicating they are closed and locked. The idea could be extended to the usual red-yellow-green gear warning and even to unlatched canopies and tail dollies still on the tail-boom.

Panels are being packed with an almost unbelievable array of computerized instruments, why not add a row of simple LED lights that might eliminate a few accidents? We now have good batteries and very bright, efficient LED's so why not?

Bill: That's a brilliant idea. My Ventus already has an LED light array for flap position on top of the glare-shield - it would be trivial to add similar ones for spoilers and gear.

Mike

At 05:11 06 February 2015, Mike the Strike wrote:
Bill: That's a brilliant idea. My Ventus already has an LED light array
for flap position on top of the glare-shield - it would be trivial to add
similar ones for spoilers and gear.

Mike

Just a thought....would it not be a good idea to fit the flap leds around
the asi in the appropriate positions?

Or look out at the wings?

Is adding additional information to an already busy panel not complicating
matters?

Is it not also encouraging one to look in and not out? Good look out should
be promoted.

At 04:39 06 February 2015, Bill D wrote:
On Thursday, February 5, 2015 at 8:33:52 PM UTC-7, Mike the Strike wrote:
I've known of more than a couple of incidents involving inadvertent
openi=
ng of spoilers that were not caught by the pilot and led to an accident
or
=
nearly so.
=20
I was taught (by a German instructor) always to visually check spoilers
w=
hen deploying them and again to check they were closed, something I have
al=
ways done. I also only deploy spoilers when within safe distance of the
fi=
eld and almost never while flying cross-country. I remember a colleague
wh=
o outlanded when he deployed his spoiler and the handle broke off,
leaving
=
them fully open!
=20
Mike

As long as we are discussion solutions to unintended open spoilers, why
not=
adopt the airplane solution in the form of an annunciator panel on the
gla=
re-shield consisting of LED lights? A big red one would indicate
unlocked
=
open spoilers and a small green one indicating they are closed and
locked.
=
The idea could be extended to the usual red-yellow-green gear warning
and
=
even to unlatched canopies and tail dollies still on the tail-boom.

Panels are being packed with an almost unbelievable array of computerized
i=
nstruments, why not add a row of simple LED lights that might eliminate a
f=
ew accidents? We now have good batteries and very bright, efficient
LED's
=
so why not?