Glider Mid Air Collision at World Championships

[scre80]

luckily everyone is ok, thankfully they had parachutes on and were able to bail out

 

Gliders collide mid-air

 

 

[bexrbetter]

Parachutes?

 

Obviously they weren't well maintained aircraft or experienced pilots.

 

 

[alf jessup]

Parachutes?Obviously they weren't well maintained aircraft or experienced pilots.

Bit harsh Bex,

World championships and a gaggle of gliders in a one particular thermal

 

Lot of aircraft in one confined space is a recipe for a collision

 

I'm pretty sure the gliders competing in a world championship would have been well maintained

 

Also sure there wouldn't have been too many first solo pilots lol

 

I'm guessing your comment was a tongue in cheek one

 

 

[facthunter]

The "ejection" capability helped , otherwise you have to get out of your plane manually. You always have to be careful near Yerong. I think a mate of mine helped name that place. Whatever I said, he would reply...Yerong. Nev

 

 

[techie49]

I too was going to comment on how gliders have become so advanced they have ejection capabilities. When I did some gliding with the kids when they were in the Scouts in the UK, the instructor briefed me by saying " If I say out, don't say what because I won't be there" .

 

I prefer an engine ..........!

 

Paul

 

 

[cscotthendry]

The "ejection" capability helped , otherwise you have to get out of your plane manually. You always have to be careful near Yerong. I think a mate of mine helped name that place. Whatever I said, he would reply...Yerong. Nev

Nev: Yer "yerong" mate must've been from Canberra. Everyone I met there said that.

 

 

[Methusala]

HEY, WATCHIT MATE!!!

 

 

[Exadios]

From Mat Scutter:

 

(Everyone is ok) Easily my worst ever... - Matthew Scutter's Gliding | Facebook

 

 

[Oscar]

The "ejection" capability helped , otherwise you have to get out of your plane manually. You always have to be careful near Yerong. I think a mate of mine helped name that place. Whatever I said, he would reply...Yerong. Nev

Had two club members, and one a fairly close mate, involved in a mid-air at a State Comps, around 5,000'. Pilatus B4 hit a Salto, took the tail off the B4 and mangled the wing of the Salto.

 

The B4 instantly flipped inverted; the pilot pulled the canopy release and his belt buckle as it went over, was spat out like a piece of old chewing gum - he doesn't remember actually leaving the thing, just being in it and then in mid-air. He'd never jumped, but instinct made him wait until he could see he was clear of the aircraft and then pulled the chute.

 

The Salto was in a terminal spin, somewhat below him, and he recounted to me watching it descend and shouting to the Salto pilot to 'get out, get out'. Finally, at about 2,500', the Salto canopy was discarded and the pilot was out and under the silk.

 

They landed a few hundred metres apart; my mate (from the B4) rushed over to see if the Salto pilot was ok. The Salto pilot's first words were: 'did you keep your D-handle?'

 

Turned out - previously unbeknown - the Salto pilot was an ex-Army Parachute Instructor with somewhere over 1900 jumps to his experience. Following the collision, he had stowed his maps, removed his pencils from his top pocket for safety when rolling after landing, tucked his watch in his pants pocket and grabbed his water bottle and put it in his trouser-leg side pocket, since it was a hot day and he knew they might be out there for hours until someone turned up. Then he had left the building...

 

I believe the Salto was repaired; the B4 was not.

 

 

[Exadios]

If the Salto pilot had not been in such a hurry he could have eaten his apple before he 'ejected'. :)

 

 

[Jabiru7252]

I thought parachutes were mandatory in gliders.

 

 

[facthunter]

They weren't when I flew them but WHY would a chute be mandatory?. The most critical time is the launch and an ordinary chute wouldn't be any help then. The fuel in the tanks doesn't ignite. No engine to fail. Fairly safe aeroplane really. Nev

 

 

[Exadios]

I thought parachutes were mandatory in gliders.

Parachutes are mandatory in (most) competitions. Otherwise, they are not.

 

 

[laserfly]

link to news paper

 

Gliders collide mid-air

 

 

[MartyG]

I hope the Salto pilot didn,t throw the pencils away, He would of needed them to write out the Incident Report on the way down LOL, The man is way too cool under pressure.

 

 

[Methusala]

In my limited experience, parachutes are worn in single-seaters but not usually in training a/c. Blaniks certainly not. Don

 

 

[cooperplace]

that's what worries me about gliders: all these planes crowding into thermals....

 

 

[KRviator]

Parachutes?Obviously they weren't well maintained aircraft or experienced pilots.

Bit harsh I reckon, check out this video from the current comp.And as for the glider pilots, I have this to say: "You fellas are effin NUTS!" That many gliders in one thermal, it's no wonder you guys wear chutes...I'll stick to my RV thank you very much...

 

 

 

[alf jessup]

I'm with you KRviator

 

Peak hour traffic doesn't suit me either

 

 

[408059]

I used to be a gliding instructor both here and in the UK. Rules and etiquette for thermaling gliders with others were taught early in a glider pilot's career.

 

Thermaling in a gaggle is not limited to competitions. Whilst in the UK, at a place called Lasham, I recollect instructing a student and being joined by a dozen others in a thermal I found. Skill levels of these 'others' varied considerably. We all managed. That evening the bar talk took up the topic of how many gliders will a thermal support. We never did conclude the argument. The warm beer didn't help.

 

As an aside I purchased that salto many years later and used it for practicing competition glider aerobatics. The repairs were not good but that is another tale.

 

Cheers

 

Steve

 

 

[kgwilson]

I was flying my Hang Glider in a competition in NZ in the mid 80s initially in ridge lift with 50 or 60 others. A couple of us caught a thermal & then everyone else joined in. Other better pilots & those with higher performance gliders came up under us. They couldn't see us above them & it got too scary for me & a few others so we left & continued on with the task. I looked back a few times & saw this huge column of gliders. Luckily they were all thermalling in the same direction. I didn't complete the task & landed out. Plenty did make the task though & they all had bigger balls than me.

 

 

[Oscar]

That thermal in the video appears to be a fair bit wider, and somewhat more gentle, than a typical Aussie summer thermal: the bank angle is only around 15 degrees or so. If you get an Aussie screamer, it's tighter and I've seen over 1,000 fpm climbs while typically banking at around 45 degrees and flying at around 55 kts, maybe a bit less.. You ABSOLUTELY fly on 'seat of the pants' - you do NOT look inside, when in company - and you listen to the vario for centreing adjustment. It becomes a freight train with more than a few gliders in the one patch; to climb through another glider, you try to settle for being well around the circle from him (or her) and then try to fly steadily up, maintaining the separation. And that, in a rough thermal, can be quite hard work..

 

Glad to hear the Salto DID have more life; I didn't know the pilot well, he was a very quiet, reserved guy and the accident happened after I had rather left gliding due to kids arriving on the family scene. The B4 ended up under another family member's home for years (in fact, I think one wing is still there!) but I think the rest went for repair bits to various others over the years. I did fly that particular B4 several times, as the third solo aircraft in my experience, after starting on an Arrow and then graduating to the B4 via a Boomerang. I didn't much like the B4, it climbed well but was unbalanced; elevator was twitchy and roll was slow and the Boomer would cream it on a decent x-country day.

 

 

[Blueadventures]

Bit harsh I reckon, check out this video from the current comp.And as for the glider pilots, I have this to say: "You fellas are effin NUTS!" That many gliders in one thermal, it's no wonder you guys wear chutes...I'll stick to my RV thank you very much...

 

There's airmanship required where the positioning of gliders in the thermal is recommended to allow best vision and situational awareness. Plus the important method of joining at leaveing the thermal. Leaving has many methods and it not just peeling off. Then you get the rule breakers who tighten up there turn into the core and assend at a faster rate, thus overtaking up the inside of the other glider; this makes the possibility of collision greater, due to blind spots etc. Then there is always the possibility of stalling a wing that results in spinning down through the gaggle; then then possibility of a collision is greatest. Therefore parachutes are a must have. Hope this brief explanation helps some what. Regarding this collision best to wait a read the investigators findings as what I have written is not meant to be a explanation of what were the contributing factors to this treads heading. I'll be keen to read the findings when they are available. I'm glad both pilots are OK. Cheers

Mike

 

 

[Oscar]

For a more typical 'Aussie' tight thermal, watch the same guy from last year, from about 2:44 through to 3:15 or so: scratching to make it home (final glide), gets a 7-knot lift ( 700 fpm). Can only afford to stay in it for as short as possible, is being caught by other competitors. (Is worth watching to the end for those who have never experienced just how far a high-performance glider can go for not much height loss, while steaming along..)

 

 

 

[Oscar]

Of course, when you have a sky full of gliders and the lift stops...

 

Many years ago, my brother, flying a Blanik (then about the hottest 2-seater, that's how long ago!) in the NSW State championships, was leading the Class when the ar$e dropped out of the day. Selected a paddock, landed. The farmer drove across and did the usual: 'what happened mate, did the wind stop?' bit. His neighbour also drove over, having seen the landing, to join in the chat.. Shortly after that, about the following five competitors, having hit the same sink, decided that that must be a good paddock, and fairly much one after another, joined in the sewing circle on the ground - misery loves company..

 

It was around the third or fourth to come trundling in, when one of the farmers turned to the other and said: 'Bloody Hell, Fred, we're probably going to have to spray for these things next'....