Mal Drop,
The pipe in question sounds right up the street of the gentleman you mention. Whilst I "loved him like a brother" I was fortunate enough not to accompany him down route, during the time that our tours coincided. There's only so much an old GE, with no hair can manage
I do remember the stories of the pipe though.
TBT,
Yep, sometimes a chain of events can almost guarantee the approaching cock up. I well remember the first time I flew a Grob Astir, having my ear bent by the club CFI for failing to raise the undercarriage after release from the winch launch. To that point I had only ever flown gliders with fixed undercarriage. So, next launch I duly raised the gear, just after release from the cable. Downwind and the WULF checks were processed quickly, two other gliders vying to land at the same time. You guessed it, I forgot that I was flying the Astir, and reverted to ASK18 mode. The landing was the smoothest I had ever done, and thankfully on the grass, not the runway. The beers that night were an expensive way of learning a lesson, but thankfully no damage to the Astir
Smudge
