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Old 6th Oct 2011, 12:53
  #32 (permalink)  
cumulusrider
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Hampshire
Age: 71
Posts: 112
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First gliding competition day 5 so I was already tired. Hot blue day,300km task. 15min after take off I discovered my water bottle had slipped out of reach. 4 1/2 hrs later i was 6 miles from home at 1500ft and and feeling woozy. I decided to fly over the local town hoping to find a final thermal - no luck. So i headed towards the airfield. A few minutes later I was over dense wood land losing height steadily. At 500ft fields full of crop.
Eventually i arrived in a crop field and hit a rut collapsing the undercariage, and puting a hole in the wing.
Lessons learned
1. Make sure you are well hydrated. The start of my problems was I wasnt thinking straight.
2. Watch out for press-on -itus in competitions.
3. Make decisions in plenty of time. dont just sit there fat dumb and ignorant until the accident happens.

A severe bollocking by the CFI and visit to buy a camelback ensued
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