Aborted takeoff in Glider

[mickjoebill]

Aborted outside the perimeter boundary, into trees.

Edit:
In deference to the hospitalised pilot, I've deleted the link to the apparently unauthorised video.

Perhaps he will authorise its use in the future.

I wish him a speedy recovery.


Mjb

[EXDAC]

I have over 2,500 hours in gliders and the cause of this accident is obvious. The airbrakes were not locked and they opened during the takeoff roll. The pilot's left hand was guarding the tow release and not the airbrake handle so the pilot was completely unaware that the airbrakes had opened.

The hand should never be on the tow release during takeoff. Near is ok but, in my opinion, far better to guard the airbrakes.

What happened to "brakes closed and locked - ready for hook up"?

Why did he release? It was still flying and under control.


Andy

[nevillestyke]

Why did he release? It was still flying and under control.


Andy

It looks like he was given the line by the tug, as he only released after the tension pinged off.

[Heathrow Harry]

looked like he pulled the release by error TBH.......... silly to keep your hand firmly on it ...........

[snapper1]

He hadn't locked his airbrakes and they were sucked open once speed built up so consequently his climb rate was very slow. He was quite correct in guarding the release.

[dsc810]

Apparently this accident
Pilot in glider crash narrowly escapes falling into quarry - Leicester Mercury (http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/pilot-glider-crash-narrowly-escapes-383743)

Take a copy if you want as in like 'now' as from the comments it appears the pilot concerned wants it taken down from FB....though how it got there in the first place is a question indeed.

The BGA/instructors now teach that the hand must be on the release at least until the end of the ground run for all launches.

[mickjoebill]

He hadn't locked his airbrakes and they were sucked open once speed built up so

Does this suck-up occur in other makes?
Not possible/desirable to have it spring loaded? Do gliders only use speed brakes at landing phase so pulling against a spring or aerodynamic tab is not a physical ordeal?

Mjb

[bgbazz]

If you're talking about the blue handle just above the pilots left hand, it jumps rearward at about the 30 second mark...not checked and locked, or a malfunction in the latch mechanism?
At about 1.10, he says FFS...that's when he should have picked it up, if not earlier when he noticed the glider wasn't performing like it should be.

Either way....ouch!!

[EXDAC]

"The BGA/instructors now teach that the hand must be on the release at least until the end of the ground run for all launches."

That may be appropriate for a winch launch but not for aerotow in the gliders I have the most time in. ASW-19b over 1500 hours and ASW-28 over 850 hours - I always started aerotow takeoff roll with airbrakes open and closed them when I have good roll control. Not possible to have the left hand on the release and the airbrake handle. Also not possible for flapped gliders which start with negative flap and then change flap setting when speed increases.

Andy

[EXDAC]

"Not possible/desirable to have it spring loaded?"

On most, if not all, gliders the airbrakes have an over-center locking mechanism. The handle moves forward until the brake caps are flush with the wing then additional forward movement of the handle activates the over-center locking mechanism. It is usually not possible for an external observer to see if the brakes are locked only that they are closed.

When unlocked airbrakes suck open depends on the glider type. On the ASW-19b they stay closed until lift off then bang full open. I painted a red bar on my ASW-19b airbrake control rod. The red paint was completely hidden when the brakes were locked.

A properly executed control check requires the airbrakes to be opened fully then closed and locked.

Andy

[Mechta]

The Piggott Hook:

https://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/en/library/piggott-hook

[Piltdown Man]

Most airbrakes will self-open to full if left unlocked. It high speeds they will open with one hell of a bang unless you apply a great deal of force to prevent this from happening. Most airbrake caps are spring loaded and it is this is what initially opens the brakes, the rest is aerodynamic.

PM

[Deltasierra010]

It was a deliberate release, he obviously forgot the check list and didn't lock the brakes, did the tug wave him off?, because he was not climbing ?. If not why release at that height, he hit the trees almost immediately. If the tuggie thought he was so low that he might hit the trees he may have dumped him, with brakes closed he would have made the field to the right.
Should be compulsory viewing for all pilots.

[Mechta]

A small whistle or air-driven siren built in to the top of the airbrake blade might make the pilot more aware of them being open.

[Pegpilot]

Two points from my perspective. On the couple of occasions that I've launched with the airbrakes unlocked I've happily noticed pretty quickly and got them shut without disaster. But the underlying reason for taking off with brakes unlocked on both occasions was a delay in launching, and a presumption that I'd already checked the brakes when the launch sequence resumed. That's why I now teach Bloggs to open the canopy when there's a launch delay, because "Canopy" precedes Brakes in the pre-flight checks, and the canopy open is a pretty good clue that you need to do brakes again.
Also, if the tuggy notices that the glider has its brakes open (which he probably will, as he's now dragging a large garden shed into the air) he has a couple of ways to signal this to the glider pilot. One is to signal with rudder reversals, but if you're low and slow, the last thing you want is an asymmetric stall, so they may not feel inclined to do this. Of course the other way is to use radio, assuming the glider pilot has remembered to switch the thing on and is on the same frequency. But in the final analysis tuggy may revert to self-preservation and release at his end, and the glider pilot will now be pushing the rope.

[mary meagher]

I was the tuggie for the day. Flying my 150hp Supercub at Shenington.

Had been taking off crosswind on the longer run. They asked me to use the shorter run, directly into wind for the next takeoff, which meant that we HAD TO TAKE OFF ACROSS the runway in use by everybody else.

So we lined up, and had to wait for Everybody Else to takeoff, land, or whatever. And I was getting annoyed.

NEVER GET ANNOYED!

At last it was our turn, the K13 behind me was slow to roll. Was my engine delivering enough power? I glanced at the dials....all OK. Sounded OK. I looked in my rear view mirror - tugs have a rear view mirror so you can keep an eye on the glider.

Sure enough, the airbrakes on the twoseater K13 were wide open!

I was dragging a shed. The earth bank in front was getting too close for comfort. Despite the engine doing its best, my speed got slower.

What is the stalling speed for a combination like that? I reckon we had about 50 mph at very best estimate. So I carried on over the earth bank, only just. And carried on dragging the shed by now about 45 mph, and not happy at all, so at 500 feet I DUMPED THE GLIDER.

By that height they should easily have been able to return to the airfield, but only if they noticed the open brakes and did something about them.

Tuggies very seldom dump a glider. I've only done it 3 times. When I turned around, the K13 had vanished. Where did it go? People were running around on the ground like something urgent had happened.

The instructor and student in the K13 had NOT NOTICED AT ALL the open airbrakes. They simply plonked the glider in the nearest field, and then realised they were still wearing the towrope! No damage, no injury.

A learning experience altogether. I resolved never again to accept towing across runway in general use. I also resolved if I was upset to NOT PROCEED with the tow.

The tug pilot is responsible for the combination. But if the glider has the airbrakes open, most tugs have enough grunt to drag it up anyhow. We were marginal, and towing across an eight foot earthen bank. The only good news it was directly into the wind for the day.

[snapper1]

MODS,
I know this pilot. He has not given his consent for the dissemination of this video. His family are distressed by it being posted on Facebook and are taking steps to have it removed. Perhaps it would be wise to discontinue this thread. I understand that his club had asked if they could use the video for training purposes and, being the decent person he is, he agreed. But he did not agree for it to be published or passed around for people to post on social media.

[Cirrussy]

Ouch.... I was desperately willing him to pull the bung - I'm sure he won't do that again! Lucky that he's around to regret sharing the video - a solid reminder for us all not to take things for granted.

Speedy recovery to you, sir.

[dsc810]

Had the video not been 'shared' all we would have seen or indeed heard is a bare two line summary of the accident published in 6 months plus it would have disappeared anonymously into the general accident statistics for 2017 published sometime in 2018.

By which time no one will care, everyone will have forgotten and nothing would have been learn't....
Notice how it is not been mentioned at all on UK glider pilot dot net: clearly not a suitable discussion subject.

[RatherBeFlying]

On an early flight in a Junior, the first behind a Pawnee, I ballooned on takeoff. The [slightly over] correction bounced me off the ground, but no more oscillations.

Once we were both in the air, I noticed the handling was poor and saw the spoilers had come out - and promptly closed them.

We train devout adherence to the checklist, but we do not train for the rare but humanly inevitable times the spoilers come out or the canopy comes unlatched.

I saw an L-33 written off when the pilot would not let go of the unlatched side opening canopy to use spoilers on short final. He used sideslip to get down and in the moment did not realize that a sideslip against the opening would have held the canopy down hands free.

I saw a Jantar with a shattered canopy make a dodgy circuit to a cross runway when there were perfectly good fields ahead.

With a CG hook, I keep a hand on the release for the entire duration of the launch except when I have to change flaps.

[snapper1]

Had the video not been 'shared' all we would have seen or indeed heard is a bare two line summary


What part of, '...not given his consent for the dissemination of this video' and 'His family are distressed.' do you not understand? The guy is still in hospital.

His club asked if they could use this video for training purposes which the pilot, being the decent person he is agreed to, however he did not agree for it to be published or passed around for people to post on social media (Facebook for Christ's sake!) - Have you see the sh1t storm of nonsense that's been posted on Facebook about this accident? Given time I'm sure he will want it to be used for training purposes, but until then it should be down to his discretion.

[mary meagher]

I think this thread has some good imput, and training purposes can be served by reading about potential accidents on airtow.

However I think we could do without the video.

[RatherBeFlying]

The first time I viewed the video I did not notice the spoiler handle sneaking back. This can happen to any of us by human error or mechanical forces. The video shows how easy it is not to catch on to an insidious situation.

I would show it to pre solo students and also play a video of a canopy opening on tow.

Lastly I know three instructors who wrote off gliders when solo. Hopefully the accident pilot will some day be in the back seat.

[Shaggy Sheep Driver]

Mary, you appear to miss the point of using real-life videos as training aids. You can read about stuff 'till the cows come home, but seeing an actual video of a real event brings home just how these things can happen,

It's why many industries, and safety-conscious organisations such as Network Rail, spend a lot of money paying specialist companies to produce training videos of 'set up' situations.

Even set-up scenarios have far more impact as learning devices than merely reading about incidents. REAL incidents, like this, are even more valuable as lessons to us all as to just how easily these things can bite us. Seeing the video is many more times more valuable as a leaning aid than merely reading an accident report.

[Deltasierra010]

Top marks to the tuggie for coming clean on this. Tug pilots need balls ( even if they are female ) they always hang on and get you to a safe height if they can, the vast majority are glider pilots themselves. But there comes to a point where their own safety gets to the dangerous point I was lucky having only got dumped once at 50 ft, no problem, but several could have gone wrong if the tug had lost power.
Sometimes sh1t happens and mistakes are made, we are trained to be perfect, but in my 30 years of gliding have known 5 fatalities and a lot more human errors that have got away with it without injury. Initially I didn't realise it was a K13 2 seater, if that is correct who was in the back, hopefully not an instructor!!.

There by the grace of God go I

[dsc810]

Mary's Meager's post No 19 is misleading
She was NOT the tug pilot on THIS incident
Her post refers to a totally different incident in which she was towing as a tug pilot which was indeed a K13.
I've heard Mary's story of this one before.

The glider in THIS incident was a Puchacz - also a 2 seater. As far as we are aware there was no one in the back - its was being flown solo.

[gliderkev]

Top marks to the tuggie for coming clean on this. Tug pilots need balls ( even if they are female ) they always hang on and get you to a safe height if they can, the vast majority are glider pilots themselves. But there comes to a point where their own safety gets to the dangerous point I was lucky having only got dumped once at 50 ft, no problem, but several could have gone wrong if the tug had lost power.
Sometimes sh1t happens and mistakes are made, we are trained to be perfect, but in my 30 years of gliding have known 5 fatalities and a lot more human errors that have got away with it without injury. Initially I didn't realise it was a K13 2 seater, if that is correct who was in the back, hopefully not an instructor!!.

There by the grace of God go I

I think Mary was saying she had been in that position on the other end of the rope... it certainly wasnt a k13!
I can see the family's distress but the learning value IS huge.
Gliderpilot.net rarely comments on glider accidents, they appear in s&g with a brief analysis,

[mary meagher]

Deltasierra, gliderkev has got it right. my earlier post did not refer to this accident video, which was apparently a Puchaz being flown solo. Also, my earlier post refers to an event at Shenington. All participants in that incident were women! Nobody hurt, nothing damanged.

But the video that leads off this thread is indeed a good warning in every way.
You can clearly see the airbrake handle moving back on its own. The pilot has been unaware.

I was an instructor before becoming a tuggie; and insisted my students to look around at the wings if something seem wrong. In fact I would demonstrate to them how useful this lookout is while the student and glider are sitting on the ground while I held the wingtip. The beginner should practice this when still flying with an instructor, in my opinion.

Flying an early solo with a video camera is also asking for embarassment.

Leave it on the ground.

[Chuck Glider]

MODS,
I know this pilot. He has not given his consent for the dissemination of this video.
Having read the thread the guy was alone in the cockpit, so presumably the camera was his, he placed it and set it running.
At the end he didn't seem incapacitated so how did the video get out and into the public domain? Shouldn't the pilot and/or his family be speaking to Steven Waitekaitis if they want it taken down.

That aside it seems to me an excellent illustration of how things can go wrong when things get busy.

[Piltdown Man]

There is something to be said for starting an aerotow with the airbrakes out, retracting them as the tug starts to move you forward. Your hand can then move to the the release.

When I was a tug pilot I dumped about half a dozen people. A couple for airbrakes and the rest for being too far out of position. If possible you drop the airbrakes open people close in on a base leg or in front of an easy field. I was able to do this because the majority of our tugs were 180 HP. With less power you will have less options. But you drop the out of position people just before you really need to and they will have to fend for themselves.

Mary, taking your camera with you may lead to embarrassment but it may also allow a great deal of illumination, proper post flight critique and some big learning moments.

PM

[Chesty Morgan]

I haven't flown a glider for over 20 years so don't remember much. In the video at about 5 seconds he moves his hand forward under the airbrake lever and you can see it gets moved upwards by a gnats. Is that enough to unlock them?

[Nige321]

At the end he didn't seem incapacitated so how did the video get out and into the public domain? Shouldn't the pilot and/or his family be speaking to Steven Waitekaitis if they want it taken down.

From reading the FB posts, he's still in hospital 6 weeks on. The gliding club apparently asked if they could use the video internally for training - it escaped from there...

[dsc810]

I'd be interested in the bit before the film clip starts.
That would show the preflight checks being done - so we could see where the "brakes closed and locked" bit was missed.
I'll bet it was some form of distraction, interruption, hold up/delay in the launch for some reason or dare I even suggest it that switching on the camera might have the distraction.

[mickjoebill]

From reading the FB posts, he's still in hospital 6 weeks on. The gliding club apparently asked if they could use the video internally for training - it escaped from there

I've removed the link from the first post to respect the copyright of the hospitalised pilot.

I wish him a speedy recovery.

Mjb

[snapper1]

I've removed the link from the first post to respect the copyright of the hospitalised pilot.

I wish him a speedy recovery.

Mjb

Good call mick.

I feel sure that he will want the video used for training purposes, perhaps when he's fully recovered.

[snapper1]

In the video at about 5 seconds he moves his hand forward under the airbrake lever and you can see it gets moved upwards by a gnats. Is that enough to unlock them?

The pilot appears to be cycling the trim which in the Puchacz is just below the airbrake lever and is operated via a push-rod, for and aft. If, when doing that, the hand should foul the airbrake lever, its not enough to unlock the airbrakes which have a deliberately strong over-centre lock (because its a training glider). If the pilot is used to flying an aircraft who's airbrakes/spoilers do not have a strong over-centre lock, its just conceivable that cycling one could be confused with cycling the other.

The pilot is not early solo in gliders. He also flies power.

[mary meagher]

Sorry, guys, I cannot agree that a solo pilot should be taking photos. Even a fixed camera turned on from the start is a distraction. Our very best air-to-air photographer is nearly always flying with a safety pilot as well.

Returning to the question, when should a tug dump the glider? Talking about my fright with experts, I had to agree I should have hung on longer; we were, after all, still climbing and every hundred feet gained would have given the glider a better chance of returning to the airfield. I was scared, my knees were shaking, I had just run completely out of courage. The last thing that a tug pilot would do at low level and low speed would be the suggested signal of waving the rudder! No way was I going to do that! I hope they have changed that stupid rule!

So still climbing, the glider more or less OK, following a very slow tug.
Hang in there. BUT....if a glider pilot ends up wildly out of position on tow, he is going to be pushing a rope. Especially if he is well above the tug.
If the glider pulls up the tail of the tug too much it can be impossible for the tug to regain flying attitude and airspeed. Before impact. When Spreckley and Rollings were practicing this maneuver they were about 6,000 feet minimum, and managed to frighten themselves badly.

[aox]

Strange to say, my last post that was deleted on this forum was about glider airbrakes coming open.

On a thread about an airliner taking off with not enough power, I realised it might be judged off-topic, but I thought it was relevant to people having the experience or awareness to perceive something amiss and finding the solution.

Years ago, as some airbrakes opened on the ground run and two of us ran towards a car with a radio, we overheard a conversation that showed we weren't needed. Have you got both mags turned on? Try closing the airbrakes!

This video, even if it's now gone from here, was seen by some of us, and can't be forgotten.

As someone says above, it might have been interesting to see from a bit earlier. Two queries arise with me. Is the movement of the trim a deliberate part of the checks, or duplication of a previous check, or an unwittingly wrong check of what was intended to be the airbrakes? And why continue to hold the release knob until well after the danger of ground loop or inadvertent sudden initial pull-up has gone?

If I'm interrupted during checks, or there's a delay and perhaps it's so hot as to open the canopy again, I do part of the checks again, canopy and brakes again, without worrying if it looks as neurotic or manic as certain tennis players' mannerisms before every single serve.

In some places, the person hooking the rope on will observe or actually ask if the brakes are closed and locked. If they obviously aren't, and it looks like an oversight or it's someone I dont know, I'll say so; they shouldn't be offended if they have to say they like holding them open for a few seconds at the start.

It has been phased out for the pilot to ask all clear above and behind, and give the take up slack and all out commands. Nowadays it is assumed if they are hooked on they are or should be ready to go. But there isn't an excuse to be a bit more casual; it should also mean don't hook them on if they aren't ready.

So perhaps any questions about concentration or routines extend slightly further than only the pilot.

[mickjoebill]

If I'm interrupted during checks, or there's a delay and perhaps it's so hot as to open the canopy again, I do part of the checks again, .

Good practice.

As an aerial cameraman and former pilot I can attest that distractions leading to mission creep or outright mishandling is very common, even for 10000 hour pilots.

Whilst the effects of human factors in aviation is well known, my personal experience is that specific training in regard to distraction would be beneficial to new pilots.

So whilst eliminating a distraction such as a camera, from a student flight is one approach, another is to train and practice for distractions.

It would be quite stimulating for instructors to setup preflight and inflight distractions that could include smartphone and cameras as the protagonists.

Mjb

[Ridger]

While valid points about distraction have been made, it's just as likely the brakes could have become unlocked post checks. I've flown a few Polish gliders where brakes popped very easily on ground run or climb out. If post t/o workload is high then it can be surprisingly easy to miss the lever moving back!

I hope the pilot recovers fully. We owe him a debt of gratitude for the learning opportunity.

[the_flying_cop]

Firstly, I hope the poor chap makes a speedy recovery.

About 29 years ago I did a gliding course at Sealand. I may have convinced myself of this having mulled this over on more than one evening but....

Doesn't the disturbed airflow as a result of the brakes being open make a dramatic contrast in wind noise? I'm sure I recall it making a din.

If this is the case, wouldn't a pilot recognise this sound?

As I said, it was a long long time ago now.

[Chuck Glider]

About 29 years ago I did a gliding course at Sealand...but...

Doesn't the disturbed airflow as a result of the brakes being open make a dramatic contrast in wind noise? I'm sure I recall it making a din.

If this is the case, wouldn't a pilot recognise this sound?
Winch launch or tug? Just speculating but I'd guess that engine/prop noise from the tug at full throttle might mask this. Plus I'd guess it'd become more apparent as the launch developed, by which time the pilot would have been really busy. I believe aural processing is the first to go when things get critical.

Very unfortunate he missed the handle moving aft but it happened so very quickly when I'm sure his focus was out and ahead.

Speedy recovery.

[dsc810]

There is another aspect of this not discussed
What would have happened if he HAD suddenly realised and slam closed the brakes?

I suspect that the glider would have soared upwards - thereby bringing the other great danger of aerotows into focus - that of dragging the tow plane tail up leading to a nose dive crash into the ground.

[Piltdown Man]

Most airbrakes produce very little change in trim, especially on an aerotow. Closing them would almost certainly have restored instaneously normal climb performance.

I have also witnessed countless departures with airbrakes open. The problem is most people or totally unaware they have a problem or if they are that their airbrakes might be the cause. I’ve seen a perfectly good glider winch launched and crash offsite because they brakes were open. Glider pilots are generally not taught to trouble shoot and emergency training normal consists of cable breaks and stall/spin awareness and recovery.

PM

[India Four Two]

dsc810,

I think the pilot would have been prepared for any sudden position change, following the closing of the brakes. However, my comment is not meant to minimize the risk of a tow-plane upset. When I'm towing, below 300', my fingers are poised on the release handle.

I used to instruct in and tow Blaniks. The airbrakes would always come open during takeoff if they weren't locked. Once I was towing an inexperienced pilot in a non-radio Blanik and the airbrakes came open during the takeoff roll. I was climbing at less than 200' per minute.

I was reluctant to give the rudder-waggle signal for "airbrakes open", because the roll secondary-effect could be mistaken for the "release now" signal.

So my plan A was to try to turn and climb to a suitable release location in the circuit, which I was able to do. Plan B was to continue straight ahead and release him over a nearby airport.

Taking to the pilot afterwards was very illuminating. Until he released, he had no idea that the airbrakes were open and he assumed that the low rate of climb was due to engine problems. He told me that his hand was on the release, anticipating a signal from me!

Talking to another tow pilot about my experience, he told me of a similar experience, where he had given the "airbrakes open" signal, which the glider pilot mis-interpreted, released, got too slow and spun-in.

I decided that I would never use the rudder-waggle signal unless in absolutely dire straits. Of course these days, we have radio, so the problem has gone away. However, we still teach all the signals and the way to minimize mistakes, is to do a very quick rudder-doublet.

[mary meagher]

Nice to hear from another tuggie!

I know they must do things differently in California! We certainly agree that no signal is better than one the glider on tow will probably misinterpret! And over here in the UK asking the tuggie to waggle the rudder at low level is not a good idea at all at all.

As for communicating with radio, that is asking a lot from an early solo glider pilot who is rather busy dealing with the airtow. Keep it simple! Just drag him up! (unless he gets too high behind you, in which case he will be faced with the problem of finding which field, schoolyard, or parking lot is now decorated with a nice blue 180 foot rope with rings at each end.

Early in my career at Booker, instructing in a glider, when we got out of position both the tug and I let go at the same moment. I had to go look for the rope later, on the ground. Thought it would be easy to find again......

[cats_five]

Of course these days, we have radio

Which isn't always on, and sometimes (as happened to me) I had turned it down because of a lot of chit-chat.

[Deltasierra010]

Finding yourself in any aircraft at low level with no power and your only option is to choose the least painful place to crash is not nice, so training is designed to reduce the risk as much as possible. Pretty much in gliding the check list is standardised.
C Controls full and free
B Ballast within limits
S Seatbelts on and tight
I Instruments. All OK
F Flaps set for TO
T Trim set for TO
C Canopy closed and locked
B Airbrakes close and locked
E Eventuallities, what are you going to do something goes wrong

Additionally for the wing man to shout
Rope on and secure
Brakes closed and locked

Training has reduced accidents substantially in recent years, dont let standards slip.

[India Four Two]

mary,

I wish I was in California! I'm in Calgary, where winter is beginning. However, it's also wave season and we had a two-seater reach FL325 a week ago!

My club has been using radio routinely for the last twenty years and we have found that by the time a student is ready to solo, that using the radio is not an issue.

[EXDAC]

Brakes opening on tow is not a major safety issue. What can become a major safety issue is the tow being continued with brakes open because the pilot was simply unaware they were open. That cannot happen if the airbrake handle is guarded (hand on, or immediately behind, the handle).

Use of airbrake was my preferred method of managing slack rope on aerotow in the ASW19b or ASW28. There is no trim change or other upset when the brakes are opened only an increase in drag. Since I use brakes for takeoff (improved low speed roll control), and for slack rope management, my left hand is usually on the brake handle for the entire tow. Those who know these gliders will know that a hand on the closed airbrake handle is also very close to the release.

I've spent a bit of time at the front of the rope too. Citabria, Scout, Pawnee, and 180 Super Cub in USA and Citabria in UK. I never had to dump anyone or wave anyone off but a Standard Cirrus pilot who pulled up aggressively and turned away without releasing the rope got my attention once! The Cirrus back released about the time I was starting to pitch down. We had a discussion when he landed. He said he had pulled the release and was not aware that the rope had no released. The discussion continued!

[dynamics]

Pretty much in gliding the check list is standardised.
C Controls full and free
B Ballast within limits
S Seatbelts on and tight
I Instruments. All OK
F Flaps set for TO
T Trim set for TO
C Canopy closed and locked
B Airbrakes close and locked
E Eventuallities, what are you going to do something goes wrong


Although I'm sure there's good reason behind that order I do wonder why the more conspicuous canopy check appears before airbrakes?

To my mind, this order seems a little more fool proof;
...
B Airbrakes close and locked
C Canopy closed and locked
E Eventuallities, what are you going to do something goes wrong

[cats_five]

Although I'm sure there's good reason behind that order I do wonder why the more conspicuous canopy check appears before airbrakes?

To my mind, this order seems a little more fool proof;
...
B Airbrakes close and locked
C Canopy closed and locked
E Eventuallities, what are you going to do something goes wrong

I sometimes do E before C so BEC. The reason is misting inside the canopy, which clears as soon as there's an airflow through it. I've occasionally asked the wing man to hook me on, go to the wingtip, wait until I've shut the canopy and start signally. Sometimes I have to do as best I can to hold my breath until the glider is moving, but I emphasis once it is, the misting clears PDQ.

If he signals before I'm ready I can drop the cable.

[old,not bold]

It's many decades since I flew a glider, evidenced by the fact that my ab initio instructor at Lasham was Derek Piggott, but I do recall "brakes in and locked" as an essentiial check.

I've come in though, only to go back a little way in the thread to a post which said:

I always started aerotow takeoff roll with airbrakes open and closed them when I have good roll control. and ask; "Why?", out of sheer curiosity.

[scifi]

Again some years since I have flown gliders. Can someone say where in the CBSIFTCBE pre-flight checks is C for Cable attached ?


I also thought you needed to do three cable checks.. Free Drop, Back Release, and Release under Tension. (where the cable guy pulls on the cable, you release and he ends up flat on his back.!)
.

[cats_five]

It's many decades since I flew a glider, evidenced by the fact that my ab initio instructor at Lasham was Derek Piggott, but I do recall "brakes in and locked" as an essentiial check.

I've come in though, only to go back a little way in the thread to a post which said:
I always started aerotow takeoff roll with airbrakes open and closed them when I have good roll control.

and ask; "Why?", out of sheer curiosity.

Some gliders have very poor roll control at low speeds, and an aerotow takes time to accelerate to where it's adequate. A winch launch OTOH... But in this case it's deliberate, the pilot know what they were doing and why, and would have had the airbrake lever in their hand. of course that means they didn't have a hand to devote to the release knob...

[dsc810]

Again some years since I have flown gliders. Can someone say where in the CBSIFTCBE pre-flight checks is C for Cable attached ?
I also thought you needed to do three cable checks.. Free Drop, Back Release, and Release under Tension. (where the cable guy pulls on the cable, you release and he ends up flat on his back.!)
.

The release checks you mention are now done as part of the daily inspection, along with positive control checks.
So the cockpit C- controls check is now just fully round the box all controls free and full movement.
The cable goes on after you have done the full CBSIFTCBE routine.
I always confirm to the cable handling man "brakes closed and locked cable on please"

Personally I miss out the E bit ('cos I learnt before it was added) which drives instructors mad but I add in D to make sure tail dolly is off, and a U to make sure the undercarriage retract lever is in its fully locked down detent position.

[old,not bold]

Some gliders have very poor roll control at low speeds, and an aerotow takes time to accelerate to where it's adequate.Yes, I see that, but in what way do the airbrakes help with low speed roll control? I would have imagined that, if anything, the additional drag would contribute to the slow acceleration, but maybe I'm being dim......

Afterthought.......perhaps gliders now have differential airbrakes/lift dumpers that would provide some roll control, and I'm just 30 years behind the curve.....?

[Pegpilot]

Well, ONB, the drag issue is not relevant at the low speeds at the start of an aerotow ground roll (drag proportional to the square of the speed and all that). But as to your more relevant point, some argue that having the brakes deployed at low speed diverts more airflow over the inboard section of the ailerons and hence give them more bite more quickly. Looking at the schematic of the ASW19/20 series (whose pilots frequently adopt this method) shows that there just might be something in this.
But none of that is relevant to the subject of the original post. The guy had a bad day and ran out of luck. He's known to me and is not a dork - there but for the grace of god and all that....

[Deltasierra010]

Brakes opening on tow is not a major safety issue. What can become a major safety issue is the tow being continued with brakes open because the pilot was simply unaware they were open. That cannot happen if the airbrake handle is guarded (hand on, or immediately behind, the handle).

Use of airbrake was my preferred method of managing slack rope on aerotow in the ASW19b or ASW28. There is no trim change or other upset when the brakes are opened only an increase in drag. Since I use brakes for takeoff (improved low speed roll control), and for slack rope management, my left hand is usually on the brake handle for the entire tow. Those who know these gliders will know that a hand on the closed airbrake handle is also very close to the release.

I've spent a bit of time at the front of the rope too. Citabria, Scout, Pawnee, and 180 Super Cub in USA and Citabria in UK. I never had to dump anyone or wave anyone off but a Standard Cirrus pilot who pulled up aggressively and turned away without releasing the rope got my attention once! The Cirrus back released about the time I was starting to pitch down. We had a discussion when he landed. He said he had pulled the release and was not aware that the rope had no released. The discussion continued!
There may be a case for Airbrakes on the TO roll but to be honest I have never seen it used, nor has anyone mentioned using them to take up cable slack, it certainly is not taught by instructors. My own way of avoiding cable slack is, when the tug turns make sure to stay on the outside of the turn

[snapper1]

There may be a case for Airbrakes on the TO roll but to be honest I have never seen it used, nor has anyone mentioned using them to take up cable slack

Using wheel brake to prevent jerking forward and possibly over-running the rope is a useful technique especially when launching on a down slope. With a glider such as the ASW20 where wheel brake is engaged by fully opening the air brake, the glider will be seen to start the initial take-off roll with air brakes fully open - but closed and locked as soon as the combination is properly under way.

[Deltasierra010]

Using wheel brake to prevent jerking forward and possibly over-running the rope is a useful technique especially when launching on a down slope. With a glider such as the ASW20 where wheel brake is engaged by fully opening the air brake, the glider will be seen to start the initial take-off roll with air brakes fully open - but closed and locked as soon as the combination is properly under way.
The ASW 20 I can comment on, some time ago I did maybe 200 hours or so all on aerotow, for TO the FM recommends to change flap settings on the TO roll. It was always a little bitch on the ground, C of G hook and tail skid but once airborne just sublime, then landing always had to be precise, get it right you can land on a tennis court but don't abuse those flaps. I don't think the brakes were connected to air brakes on mine there was a lever on the stick, normal TO run was downhill, the brake had to be used to prevent overrun.